CHICAGO 

GEO.  M.   HILL  CO 

1898 


ST.  LOUIS,  MO. 
C.  WITTER,  BOOKSELLER  &  STATIONER, 

It  SOUTH  BROADWAY.  ~  TEMPLE  BUILDING. 


PREFACE 

TO  THE  SECOND  GERMAN  EDITION. 


"Aut  prodesse  volunt  aut  delectare  poetae, 
Aut  simul  et  jucunda  et  idonea  dicere  vitae." 
Horat.  "De  Arte  Poetica,"  v,  333. 


It  is  now  four  years  since  this  book  first  appeared  before 
the  public,  and  I  feel  it  my  duty  not  to  let  a  second  edition 
go  forth  into  the  world  without  a  few  words  of  accompani- 
ment. It  hardly  seems  necessary  to  assure  my  readers  that 
I  have  endeavored  to  earn  for  the- following  pages  the  title 
of  a  "corrected  edition."  An  author  is  the  father  of  his  book, 
and  what  father  could  see  his  child  preparing  to  set  out  on 
a  new  and  dangerous  road,  even  if  it  were  not  for  the  first 
time,  without  endeavoring  to  supply  him  with  every  good 
that  lay  in  his  power  to  bestow  and  to  free  him  from  every 
fault  or  infirmity  on  which  the  world  could  look  unfavorably? 
The  assurance,  therefore,  that  I  have  repeatedly  bestowed  the 
greatest  possible  care  on  the  correction  of  my  "Egyptian 
Princess"  seems  to  me  superfluous,  but  at  the  same  time  I 
think  it  advisable  to  mention  briefly  where  and  in  what  man- 
ner I  have  found  it  necessary  to  make  these  emendations.  The 
notes  have  been  revised,  altered  and  enriched  with  all  those 
results  of  antiquarian  res-earcb  (more  especially  in  reference 
to  the  language  and  monuments  of  ancient  Egypt)  which 
have  come  to  our  knowledge  since  the  year  1864  and  which 
my  limited  space  allowed  me  to  lay  before  a  general  public. 
On  the  alteration  of  the  text  itself  I  entered  with  caution, 


2234667 


iv  PREFACE. 

almost  with  timidity;  for  during  four  years  of  constant  effort 
as  academical  tutor,  investigator  and  writer  in  those  severe 
regions  of  study  which  exclude  the  free  exercise  of  imagina- 
tion, the  poetical  side  of  a  man's  nature  may  forfeit  much 
to  the  critical;  and  thus,  'by  attempting  to  remodel  my  tale 
entirely,  I  might  have  incurred  the  danger  of  removing  it 
from  the  more  genial  sphere  of  literary  work  to  which  it 
properly  belongs.  I  have,  therefore,  contented  myself  with 
a  careful  revision  of  the  style,  the  omission  of  lengthy  passages 
which  might  have  diminished  the  interest  of  the  story  to  gen- 
eral readers,  the  insertion  of  a  few  characteristic  or  explana- 
tory additions  and  the  alteration  of  the  proper  names.  These 
last  I  have  written  not  in  their  Greek  but  in  their  Latin  forms-, 
having  been  assured  by  more  than  one  fair  reader  that  the 
names  Ibykus  and  Cyrus  would  have  been  greeted  by  them 
as  old  acquaintances,  whereas  the  "Ibykos"  and  "Kyros''  of 
the  first  edition  looked  so  strange  and  learned  as  to  be  quite 
discouraging.  Where,  however,  the  German  "k"  has  the  same 
worth  as  the  Roman  "c"  I  have  adopted  it  in  preference.  With 
respect  to  the  Egyptian  names  and  those  with  which  we  have 
become  acquainted  through  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  I  have 
chosen  the  forms  most  adapted  to  our  German  modes  of 
speech,  and  in  the  present  edition  have  placed  those  few 
explanations  which  seemed  to  me  indispensable  to  the  right 
understanding  of  the  text  at  the  foot  of  the  page. 

The  fact  that  displeasure  has  been  excited  among  men  of 
letters  by  this  attempt  to  clothe  the  hardly  earned  results  of 
severer  studies  in  an  imaginative  form  is  even  clearer  to  me 
now  than  when  I  first  sent  this  book  before  the  public.  In 
some  points  I  agree  with  this  judgment,  but  that  the  act  is 
kindly  received,  when  a  scholar  does  not  scorn  to  render  the 
results  of  his  investigations  accessible  to  .the  largest  number 
of  the  educated  class,  in  the  form  most  generally  interesting 
to  them,  is  proved  by  the  rapid  sale  of  the  first  large  edition 
of  this  work.  I  know  at  least  of  no  better  means  than  those 
I  have  chosen  by  which  to  instruct  and  suggest  thought  to 
an  extended  circle  of  readers.  %Those  who  read  learned  books 
evince  in  so  doing  a  taste  of  such  studies;  but  it  may  easily 
chance  that  the  following  pages,  though  taken  up  only  for 
amusement,  may  excite  a  desire  for  more  information,  and 
even  gain  a  disciple  for  the  study  of  ancient  history. 


PREFACE.  V 

Considering  our  scanty  knowledge  of  the  domestic  life  of 
the  Greeks  and  Persians-  before  the  Persian  war — of  Egyp- 
tian manners  we  know  more — even  the  most  severe  scholar 
could  scarcely  dispense  with  the  assistance  of  his  imagination, 
when  attempting  to  describe  private  life  among  the  civilized 
nations  of  the  sixth  century  before  Christ.  He  would,  how- 
ever, escape  all  danger  of  those  anachronisms  to  which  the 
author  of  such  a  work  as  I  have  undertaken  must  be  hope- 
lessly liable.  With  attention  and  industry,  errors  of  an  exter- 
nal character  may  be  avoided,  but  if  I  had  chosen  to  hold 
myself  free  from  all  consideration  of  the  times  in  which  I  and 
my  readers  have  come  into  the  world,  and  the  modes  of 
thought  at  present  existing  among  us,  and  had  attempted  to 
depict  nothing  but  the  purely  ancient  characteristics1  of  the 
men  and  their  times,  I  should  have  become  unintelligible  to 
many  of  my  readers,  uninteresting  to  all,  and  have  entirely 
failed  in  my  original  object.  My  characters  will,  therefore, 
look  like  Persians,  Egyptians,  etc.,  but  in  their  language,  even 
more  than  in  their  actions,  the  German  narrator  will  be  per- 
ceptible, not  always  superior  to  the  sentimentality  of  his  day, 
but  a  native  of  the  world  in  the  nineteenth  centviry  after  the  i 
appearance  of  that  heavenly  Master,  whose  teaching  left  so/ 
deep  an  impression  on  human  thought  and  feeling.  / 

The  Persians  and  Greeks,  being  by  descent  related  to  our* 
selves,  present  fewer  difficulties  in  this  respect  than  the  Egyp- 
tians, whose  dwelling-place  on  the  fruitful  islands  won  by  the 
Nile  from  the  desert  completely  isolated  them  from  the  rest 
of  the  world. 

To  Prof.  Lepsius,  who  suggested  to  me  that  a  tale  confined 
entirely  to  Egypt  and  the  Egyptians  might  become  weari- 
some, I  owe  many  thanks;  and  following  his-  hint,  have  so 
arranged  the  materials  supplied  by  Herodotus  as  to  introduce 
my  reader  first  into  a  Greek  circle.  Here  he  will  feel  in  a 
measure  at  home,  and,  indeed,  will  entirely  sympathize  with 
them  on  one  important  point,  viz.:  in  their  ideas  on  the  beau- 
tiful and  on  art.  Through  this  Hellenic  portico  he  reaches 
Egypt,  from  thence  passes  on  to  Persia  and  returns  finally 
to  the  Nile.  It  has  been  my  desire  that  the  three  nations* 
should  attract  him  equally,  and  I  have,  therefore,  not  centered 
the  entire  interest  of  the  plot  in  one  hero,  but  have  endeav- 
ored to  exhibit  each  nation  in  its  individual  character  by  means 


vi  PREFACE. 

of  a  fitting  representative.  The  Egyptian  princess  has  given 
her  name  to  the  book,  only  because  the  weal  and  woe  of  all 
my  other  characters  were  decided  by  her  fate,  and  she  must, 
therefore,  be  regarded  as  the  central  point  of  the  whole. 

In  describing  Amasis  I  have  fcllowed  the  excellent  descrip- 
tion of  Herodotus',  which  has  been  confirmed  by  a  picture 
discovered  on  an  ancient  monument.  Herodotus  has  been 
my  guide,  too,  in  the  leading  features  of  Cambyses'  character; 
indeed,  as  he  was  born  only  forty  or  fifty  years  after  the  events 
related,  his  history  forms  the  basis  of  my  romance. 

"Father  of  history"  though  he  be,  I  have  not  followed  him 
blindly,  but  especially  in  the  development  of  my  characters, 
have  chosen  those  paths  which  the  principles  of  psychology 
have  enabled  me  to  lay  down  for  myself,  and  have  never 
omitted  consulting  those  hieroglyphic  and  cuneiform  inscrip- 
tions which  have  already  been  deciphered.  In  most  cases 
these  confirm  the  statements  of  Herodotus. 

I  have  caused  Bartja's  murder  to  take  place  after  the  con- 
quest of  Egypt,  because  I  cannot  agree  with  the  ustially 
received  translation  of  the  Behistun  inscription.  This  reads 
as  follows:  "One  named  Cambujiya,  son  of  Curu,  of  our 
family,  was  king  here  formerly  and  had  a  brother  named  Bar- 
tiya,  of  the  same  father  and  the  same  mother  as  Cambujiya. 
Thereupon  Cambujiya  killed  that  Bartiya."  In  a  book  intend'ed 
for  general  readers  it  would  not  be  well  to  enter  into  a  dis- 
cussion as  to  niceties  of  language,  but  even  the  uninitiated 
will  see  that  the  word  "thereupon"  has  no  sense  in  this  con- 
nection. In  every  other  point  the  inscription  agrees  with 
Herodotus'  narrative,  and  I  believe  it  possible  to  bring  it  into 
agreement  with  that  of  Darius  on  this  last  as  well;  but  reserve 
my  proofs  for  another  time  and  place. 

It  has*  not  been  ascertained  from  whence  Herodotus  has 
taken  the  name  Smerdis,  which  he  gives  to  Bartja  and  Gau- 
mata.  The  latter  occurs  again,  though  in  a  mutilated  form, 
in  Justin. 

My  reason  for  making  Phanes  an  Athenian  will  be  found 
in  note  p.  52.  This  coercion  of  an  authenticated  fact  might 
have  been  avoided  in  the  first  edition,  but  could  not  now  be 
altered  without  important  changes  in  the  entire  text.  The 
means  I  have  adopted  in  my  endeavor  to  make  Nitetis  as 
young  as  possible  needs  a  more  serious  apology;  as,  notwith- 


PREFACE.  vii 

standing  Herodotus'  account  of  the  mildness  of  Amasis'  rule, 
it  is  improbable  that  king  Hophra  should  have  been  alive 
twenty  years  after  his  fall.  Even  this1,  however,  is  not  impo^- 
sible,  for  it  can  be  proved  that  his  descendants  were  not  per- 
secuted by  Amasis. 

On  a  stela  in  the  Leyden  museum  I  have  discovered  that 
a  certain  Psamtik,  a  member  of  the  fallen  dynasty,  lived  till 
the  seventeenth  year  of  Amasis'  reign,  and  died  at  the  age 
of  seventy-five. 

Lastly,  let  me  be  permitted  to  say  a  word  or  two  in  reference 
to  Rhodopis.  That  she  must  have  been  a  remarkable  woman 
is  evident  from  the  passage  in  Herodotus  quoted  in  notes 
pp.  7  and  9,  and  from  the  accounts  given  by  many  other 
writers.  Her  name,  "the  rosy-cheeked  one,"  tells1  us  that  she 
was  beautiful,  and  her  amiability  and  charm  of  manner  are 
expressly  praised  by  Herodotus.  How  richly  she  was  endowed 
with  gifts  and  graces  may  be  gathered,  too,  from  the  manner 
in  which  tradition  and  fairy  lore  have  endeavored  to  render 
her  name  immortal.  By  many  she  is  said  to  have  built  the 
most  beautiful  of  the  pyramids- — the  pyramid  of  Mycerinus 
or  Menkera.  One  tale  related  of  her  and  reported  by  Strabo 
and  Aelian  probably  gave  rise  to  our  oldest  and  most  beau- 
tiful fairy-tale,  "Cinderella";  another  is  near  akin  to  the  Lore- 
ley  legend.  An  eagle,  according  to  Strabo — the  wind  in 
Aelian's  tale — bore  away  Rhodopis'  slippers  while  she  was 
bathing  in  the  Nile,  and  laid  them  at  the  feet  of  the  king,  when 
seated  on  the  throne  of  justice  in  the  open  market.  The 
little  slippers  so  enchanted  him  that  he  did  not  rest  until 
he  had  discovered  their  owner  and  made  her  his  queen. 

The  second  legend  tells  us  how  ~a  wonderfully  beautiful 
naked  woman  could  be  seen  sitting  on  the  summit  of  one  of 
the  pyramids  (ut  in  una  ex  pyramidibus);  and  how  she  drove 
the  wanderers  in  the  desert  mad  through  her  exceeding  love- 
liness. 

Moore  borrowed  this  legend  and  introduces  it  in  the  fol- 
lowing verse: 

"Fair  Rhodope,  as  story  tells — 
The  bright  unearthly  nymph,  who  dwells 
'Mid  sunless  gold  and  jewels  hid, 
The  lady  of  the  pyramid." 


viii  PREFACE. 

Fabulous  as  these  stories  sound,  they  still  prove  that  Rho- 
dopis  must  have  been  no  ordinary  woman.  Some  scholars 
woaild  place  her  on  a  level  with  the  beautiful  and  heroic  Queen 
Nitokris,  spoken  of  by  Julius  Africanus,  Eusebius  and  others, 
and  whose  name  (signifying  the  victorious  Keith)  has  been 
found  on  the  monuments,  applied  to  a  queen  of  the  sixth 
dynasty.  This  is-  a  bold  conjecture;  it  adds,  however,  to  the 
importance  of  our  heroine;  and,  without  doubt,  many  tradi- 
tions referring  to  the  one  have  been  transferred  to  the  other, 
and  vice  versa.  Herodotus  lived  so  short  a  time  after  Rho- 
dopis  and  tells  so  many  exact  particulars  of  her  private  life 
that  it  is  impossible  she  should  have  been  a  mere  creation  of 
fiction.  The  letter  of  Darius,  given  at  the  end  of  the  volume, 
is  intended  to  identify  the  Greek  Rhodopis1  with  the  mythical 
builder  of  the  pyramid.  I  would  also  mention  here  that  she 
is  called  Doricha  by  Sappho.  This  may  have  been  her  name 
before  she  received  the  title  of  the  "rosy-cheeked  one." 

With  regard  to  the  love  scenes  between  Sappho  and  Bartja 
I  will  not  suppress  the  fact  that  the  question  has  been  asked 
me  by  some  whose  opinion  is  of  great  weight:  "Did  the 
ancients  know  anything  of  love,  in  our  sense  of  the  word? 
Is  not  romantic  love,  as  we  know  it,  a  result  of  Christianity?" 
The  following  sentence,  which  stands  at  the  head  of  the  pref- 
ace to  my  first  edition  will  prove  that  I  had  not  ignored  this 
question  when  I  began  my  task: 


"It  has  often  been  remarked  that  in  Cicero's  letters  and  those  of 
Pliny  the  younger  there  are  unmistakable  indications  of  sympathy 
with  the  more  sentimental  feeling  of  modern  days.  I  find  in  them 
tones  of  deep  tenderness  only,  such  as  have  arisen  and  will  arise  from 
sad  and  aching  hearts  in  every  land  and  every  age." — A.  V.  Hum- 
boldt.  Cosmos  II.  p.  19. 


This  opinion  of  our  great  scholar  is  one  with  which  I  cheer- 
fully coincide  and  would  refer  my  readers  to  the  fact  that 
love  stories  were  written  before' the  Christian  era;  the  "Amor 
and  Psyche  of  Apuleius"  for  instance.  Indeed,  love  in  all 
its  forms  was  familiar  to  the  ancients.  Where  can  we  find 
a  more  beautiful  expression  of  ardent  passion  than  glows 
in  Sappho's  songs?  or  of  patient,  faithful  constancy  than  in 


PREFACE.  ix 

Homer's  "Penelope"?  Could  there  be  a  more  beautiful  pic- 
ture of  the  union  of  two  loving  hearts,  even  beyond  the 
grave,  than  Xenophon  has  preserved  for  us  in  his  account 
of  Panthae  and  Abradatasr?  or  the  story  of  Sabinus  the  Gaul 
and  his  wife,  told  in  the  "History  of  Vespasian''?  Is  there 
anywhere  a  sweeter  legend  than  that  of  the  Halcyons,  the 
ice-birds,  who  love  one  another  so  tenderly  that  when  the 
male  becomes  enfeebled  by  age  his  mate  carries  him  on  her 
outspread  wings  whithersoever  he  will;  and  the  gods,  desir- 
ing to  reward  such  faithful  love,  cause  the  stin  to  shine  more 
kindly,  and  still  the  winds  and  waves  on  the  "halcyon  days" 
during  which  these  birds  are  building  their  nest  and  brood- 
ing over  their  young?  There  can  surely  have  been  no  lack 
of  romantic  love  in  days  when  a  used-tip  man  of  the  world, 
like  Antony,  could  desire  in  his  will  that  wherever  he  died 
his  body  might  be  laid  by  the  side  of  his  beloved  Cleopatra; 
nor  of  the  chivalry  of  love  when  Berenice's  beautiful  hair 
was  placed  as  a  constellation  in  the  heavens.  Neither  can 
we  believe  that  devotion  in  the  cause  of  love  could  be  want- 
ing when  a  whole  nation  was  ready  to  wage  a  fierce  and 
obstinate  war  for  the  sake  of  one  beautiful  woman.  The 
Greeks  had  an  insult  to  revenge,  but  the  Trojans  fought  for 
the  possession  of  Helen.  Even  the  old  men  of  Ilium  were 
ready  "to  suffer  long  for  such  a  woman."  And  finally  is  not 
the  whole  question  answered  in  Theocritus'  unparalleled  poem, 
"The  Sorceress"?  We  see  the  poor  love-lorn  girl  and  her 
old  woman-servant,  Thestylis1,  cowering  over  the  fire  above 
which  the  bird  supposed  to  possess  the  power  of  bringing 
back  the  faithless  Delphis  is  sitting  in  his  wheel.  Simoetha 
has  learned  many  spells  and  charms  from  an  Assyrian,  and 
she  tries  them  all.  The  distant  roar  of  the  waves,  the  smoke 
rising  from  the  fire,  the  dogs  howling  in  the  street,  the  tor- 
tured, fluttering  bird,  the  old  woman,  the  broken-hearted  girl 
and  her  awful  spells,  all  join  in  forming  a  night  scene  the 
effect  of  which  is  heightened  by  the  calm,  cold  moonshine. 
The  old  woman  leaves  the  girl,  who  at  once  ceases  to  weave 
her  spells,  allows  her  pent-up  tears  to  have  their  way,  and 
looking  up  to  Selene,  the  moon,  the  lovers'  silent  confidante, 
pours  out  her  own  whole  story;  how  when  she  first  saw  the 

roiijff  a[i 


x  PREFACE. 

beautiful  Delphis  her  heart  had  glowed  with  love,  she  had 
seen  nothing  more  of  the  train  of  youths  who  followed  him, 
"and"(thus  sadly  the  poet  makes-  her  speak) 

"How  I  gained  my  home 
I  know  not;  some  strange  fever  wasted  me, 
Ten  days  and  nights  I  lay  upon  my  bed. 
Oh,  tell  me,  mistress  moon,  whence  came  my  love!" 

— Translation  by  C.  S.  Calverley. 

Then  (she  continues)  when  Delphis  at  last  crossed  her 
threshold : 

"I 

Became  all  cold  like  snow,  and  from  my  brow 
Brake  the  damp  dewdrops;   utterance  I  had  none, 
Not  e'en  such  utterance  as  a  babe  may  make 
That  babbles  to  its  mother  in  its  dreams; 
But  all  my  fair  frame  stiffened  into  wax — 
Oh,  tell  me,  mistress  moon,  whence  came  my  love!" 

— Translation  by  C.  S.  Calverley. 

Whence  came  her  love?  thence,  whence  it  comes  to  us 
now.  The  love  of  the  creature  to  its  creator,  of  man  to  God, 
is  the  grand  and  yet  gracious  gift  of  Christianity.  Christ's 
command  to  love  our  neighbor  called  into  existence  not  only 
the  conception  of  philanthropy,  but  of  humanity  its-elf,  an 
idea  unknown  to  the  heathen  world,  where  love  had  been 
at  widest  limited  to  their  native  town  and  country.  The  love 
of  man  and  wife  has  without  doubt  been  purified  and  trans- 
figured by  Christianity;  still  it  is  possible  that  a  Greek  may 
have  loved  as  tenderly  and  longingly  as  a  Christian.  The 
more  ardent  glow  of  passion  at  least  cannot  be  denied  to  the 
ancients.  And  did  not  their  love  find  vent  in  the  same 
expressions-  as  our  own?  Who  does  not  know  the  charming 
roundelay: 

"Drink  the  glad  wine  with  me, 
With  me  spend  youth's  gay  hours; 
Or  a  sighing  lover  be, 
Or  crown  thy  brow  with  flowers. 
When  I  am  merry  and  mad, 
Merry  and  mad  be  you; 
When  I  am  sober  and  sad, 
Be  sad  and  sober,  too!" 

— Translated  by  Dean  Milman. 


PREFACE.  xi 

It  was  written,  however,  by  no  poet  of  modern  days,  but  by 
Praxilla,  in  the  fifth  century  before  Christ.  Who  would  guess 
either  that  Moore's  little  song  was  modeled  on  one  written 
even  earlier  than  the  date  of  our  story? 

"As  o'er  her  loom  the  Lesbian  maid 
In  love-sick  languor  hung  her  head, 
Unknowing  where  her  fingers^stray'd, 
She  weeping  turn'd  away  and*  said: 

'Oh,  my  sweet  mother,  'tis  in  vain, 
I  cannot  weave  as  once  I  wove; 
So  wilder'd  is  my  heart  and  brain 
With  thinking  of  that  youth  I  love.' " 

If  my  space  allowed  I  could  add  much  more  on  this  sub- 
ject, but  will  permit  myself  only  one  remark  in  conclusion. 
Lovers  delighted  in  nature  then  as  now;  the  moon  was1  their 
chosen  confidante  and  I  know  of  no  modern  poem  in  which 
the  mysterious  charm  of  a  summer  night  and  magic  beauty 
which  lies  on  flowers,  trees  and  fountains  in  those  silent 
hours. when  the  world  is  asleep,  is  more  exquisitely  described 
than  in  the  following  vers-es,  also  by  Sappho,  at  the  reading 
of  which  we  seem  forced  to  breathe  more  slowly,  "kiihl  bis 
ans  Herz  hinan." 

"Planets,  that  around  the  beauteous  moon 
Attendant  wait,  cast  into  shade 
Their  ineffectual  lusters,  soon 
As  she,  in  full-orbed  majesty  array'd, 
Her  silver  radiance  pours 
Upon  this  world  of  ours." 

— Translated  by  J.  H.  Merivale, 

And: 

"Thro"  orchard  plots  with  fragrance  crown'd, 
The  clear,  cold  fountain  murm'ring  flows; 
And  forest  leaves,  with  rustling  sound, 
Invite  to  soft  repose." 

—Translated  by  J.  H.  Merivale, 

The  foregoing  remarks  seemed  to  me  due  to  those  who 
consider  a  love  such  as  that  of  Sappho  and  Bartja  to  have 
been  impossible  among  the  ancients.  Unquestionably  it  was 


xii  PREFACE. 

much  rarer  then  than  in  these  days ;  indeed,  I  confess  to  hav- 
ing sketched  my  pair  of  lovers  in  somewhat  bright  colors. 
But  may  I  not  be  allowed,  at  least  once,  to  claim  the  poet's 
freedom? 

How  seldom  I  have  availed  myself  of  this  freedom  will  be 
evident  from  the  notes.  They  seemed  to  me  necessary,  partly 
in  order  to  explain  the  names  and  illustrate  the  circumstances 
mentioned  in  the  text,  and  partly  to  vindicate  the  writer  in 
the  eyes  of  the  learned.  I  trust  they  may  not  prove  discour- 
aging to  any,  as  the  text  will  be  found  easily  readable  without 
reference  to  the  explanations. 

GEORGE  EBERS. 
Jena,  November  28,  1868. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


The  Nile  had  overflowed  its  bed.  The  luxuriant  cornfields 
and  blooming  gardens  on  its  shores  were  lost  beneath  a 
boundless  waste  of  waters;  and  only  the  gigantic  temples  and 
palaces  of  its  cities  (protected  from  the  force  of  the  water  by 
dikes)  and  the  tops  of  the  tall  palm-trees  and  acacias  could 
be  seen  above  its  surface.  The  branches  of  the  sycamores 
and  plane-trees  drooped  and  floated  on  the  waves,  but  the 
boughs  of  the  tall  silver  poplars  strained  upward,  as  if  anxious 
to  avoid  the  watery  world  beneath.  The  full  moon  had  risen; 
her  soft  light- fell  on  the  Libyan  range  of  mountains  vanishing 
on  the  western  horizon,  and  in  the  north  the  shimmer  of  the 
Mediterranean  could  faintly  be  discerned.^  Blue  and  white 
lotus  flowers  floated  on  the  clear  water,  bats  of  all  kinds 
darted  softly  through  the  still  air,  heavy  with  the  scent  of 
acacia-blossom  and  jasmine;  the  wild  pigeons  and  other  birds-, 
were  at  roost  in  the  tops  of  the  trees,  while  the  pelicans,  storks 
and  cranes  squatted  in  groups  on  the  shore  under  the  shelter 
of  the  papyrus-reeds  and  Nile-beans.  The  pelicans  and  storks 
remained  motionless,  their  long  bills  hidden  beneath  their 
wings,  but  the  cranes  were  startled  by  the  mere  beat  of  an 
oar,  stretching  their  necks,  and  peering  anxiously  into  the 
distance,  if  they  heard  but  the  song  of  the  boatmen.  The  air 
was  perfectly  motionless,  and  the  unbroken  reflection  of  the 
moon,  lying  like  a  silver  shield  on  the  surface  of  the  water, 
proved  that,  wildly  as  the  Nile  leaps  over  the  cataracts,  and 
rushes  past  the  gigantic  temples  of  upper  Egypt,  yet  on 


2  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

approaching  the  sea  by  different  arms,  he  can  abandon  his/ 
impetuous  course,  and  flow  along  in  sober  tranquillity.          /llj 

On  this  moonlight  night  in  the  year  528  B.  C.  a  bark  w£s 
crossing  the  almost  currentles-s  canopic  mouth  of  the  Nile. 
On  the  rais-ed  deck  at  the  stern  of  this  boat  an  Egyptian 
was  sitting  to  guide  the  long  polerudder,*  and  the  half-naked 
boatmen  within  were  singing  as  they  rowed.  In  the  open 
cabin,  which  was  something  like  a  wooden  summer-house,  sat 
two  men,  reclining  on  low  cushions.  They  were  evidently 
not  Egyptians;  their  Greek  descent  could  be  perceived  even 
by  the  moonlight.  The  elder  was1  an  unusually  tall  and  power- 
ful man  of  more  than  sixty;  thick  gray  curls,  showing  very 
little  attempt  at  arrangement,  hung  down  over  his  short,  firm 
throat;  he  wore  a  simple,  homely  cloak,  and  kept  his  eyes 
gloomily  fixed  on  the  water.  His  companion,  on  the  contrary, 
a  man  perhaps  twenty  years  younger,  of  a  slender  and  deli- 
cate build,  was  seldom  still.  Sometimes  he  gazed  into  the 
heavens,  sometimes  made  a  remark  to  the  steersman,  dis- 
posed his  beautiful  purple  Chlanisf  in  fresh  folds,  or  busied 
himself  in  the  arrangement  of  his  scented  brown  curls,  or  his 
carefully  curled  beard. 

The  boat  had  left  Naukratis,$  at  that  time  the  only  Hellenic 

*Wilkinson's  "Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians,"  iii, 
196,  and  iii  pi.  xiv.  A  good  representation  of  the  different  vessels 
employed  by  the  ancient  Egyptians  is  to  be  found  in  Diimichen's 
"Flotte  einer  Agyptischen  Konigin,  T.  I." — V.  T.  xxv — xxxi.  Here, 
too,  we  have  the  ships  of  Solomon  returning  from  Ophir,  and  bringing 
(with  the  exception  of  the  peacocks)  all  the  treasures  with  which  he 
became  enriched  by  the  help  of  his  friend  Hiram's  shipmeii;  of 
which  we  read  in  I  Kings,  ix,  28;  x,  2.  The  monuments  of  Egypt 
even  supply  information  on  the  progress  of  nautical  art.  The  move- 
able  rudder  did  not  come  into  use  until  late.  Shipbuilders'  yards 
are  to  be  found  as  early  as  the  time  of  the  pyramids. 

fThe  Chlanis  was  a  light  summer-mantle,  worn  especially  by  the 
more  elegant  Athenians,  and  generally  made  of  expensive  materials. 
The  simpler  cloak,  the  Himation,  was  worn  by  the  Doric  Greeks,  and 
principally  by  the  Spartans. 

JThis  town,  which  will  form  the  scene  of  a  part  of  our  tale,  lies  in 
the  northwest  of  the  Nile  delta,  in  the  Saitic  Nomos  or  district,  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Canoptic  mouth  of  the  river.  According  to 
Strabo  and  Eusebius  it  was  founded  by  Milesians,  and  Bunsen  reckons 
749  B.  C.  It  seems  that  in  the  earliest  times  Greek  ships  were  only 
allowed  to  enter  the  mouth  of  the  Nile  in  case  of  necessity.  The 
entire  intercourse  of  the  Egyptians  with  the  hated  strangers  was,  at 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  3 

port  in  Egypt,  about  half  an  hour  before.  During  their  jour- 
ney the  gray-haired,  moody  man  had  not  spoken  one  word, 
and  the  other  had  left  him  to  his  meditations.  But  now,  as 
the  boat  neared  the  shore,  the  restless  traveler,  rising  from 
his  couch,  called  to  his  companion :  "We  are  just  at  our  des- 
tination, Aristomachus!  That  pleasant  house  to  the  left  yon- 
der, in  the  garden  of  palms  which  you  can  see  rising  above 
the  waters,*  is  the  dwelling  of  my  friend  Rhodopis.  It  was 
built  by  her  husband  Charaxus,  and  all  her  friends,  not  except- 
ing the  king  himself,  vie  with  one  another  in  adding  new 

that  time,  restricted  to  the  little  island  of  Pharos  lying  opposite  to 
the  town  of  Thorns— "Horn.  Odyss.,"  iv,  36,  "Herod.,"  ii,  113  and  114. 
E.  Curtius,  in  his  clever  pamphlet  on  the  lonians,  tries  to  prove  that 
communication  between  the  Egyptians  and  lonians  existed  at  a  far 
earlier  period.  There  is  no  doubt  that  there  was  a  communication 
with  foreigners  at  that  time,  but  we  hardly  think  directly  through 
that  celebrated  race.  It  was  rather  the  Phoenicians  who  planted 
colonies  on  the  north  coast  of  Upper  Egypt  at  a  very  early  period, 
adopted  the  Egyptian  customs,  were  called  Egyptian  Phoenicians, 
and,  remaining  true  to  the  policy  of  their  kindred  in  Tyre  and  Car- 
thage, endeavored  by  force  or  cunning  to  exclude  all  foreigners  from 
the  ports  and  commercial  towns  established  by  themselves.  Those 
details  are  to  be  found  in  our  work,  "Aegypten  und  die  Biicher 
Mose's,"  p.  195.  Mover's  "Phonizier,"  ii,  2,  p.  39  and  following.  As 
soon  as  the  Greeks  had  settled  in  Naukratis,  they  fortified  it,  and  built 
temples  to  their  gods:  the  men  of  Aegina  to  Zeus,  the  Milesians  to 
Apollo,  the  Samians  to  Hera.  A  large  temple  was  erected  also,  com- 
mon to  many  tribes  and  towns,  and  a  kind  of  trade-union  j^Han- 
seatic  body)  founded,  called  the  Hellenion.  It  was  near  to  this  flour- 
ishing commercial  town  that  Alexander  fixed  on  a  spot  for  the  site  of 
Alexandria. 

*We  are  writing  of  the  month  of  October,  when  the  Nile  begins  to 
sink.  The  inundations  can  now  be  accurately  accounted  for,  espe- 
cially since  the  important  and  laborious  synoptical  work  of  H.  Barth 
("Zeitschrift  fur  Allgemeine  Erdkunde,"  1863,  Vol.  XIV,  and  S. 
Baker's  "Travels  in  Abyssinia").  They  are  occasioned  by  the  tropical 
rains,  and  the  melting  of  the  snows  on  the  high  mountain  ranges  at 
the  equator.  In  the  beginning  of  June  a  gradual  rising  of  the  Nile 
waters  can  be  perceived;  between  the  15th  and  20th  of  June,  this 
changes  to  a  rapid  increase;  in  the  beginning  of  October  the  waters 
reach  their  highest  elevation,  a  point  which,  even  after  having  begun 
their  retreat,  they  once  more  attempt  to  attain;  then,  at  first  gradu- 
ally, and  afterward  with  ever-increasing  rapidity,  they  continue  to 
sink.  In  January,  February  and  March  the  Nile  is  still  drying  up;  and 
in  May  is  at  its  lowest  point,  when  the  volume  of  its  waters  is  only  one- 
twentieth  of  that  in  October. 


4  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

beauties  to  it  year  by  year.  A  useless  effort!  Let  them  adorn 
that  house  with  all  the  treasures  in  the  world,  the  woman 
who  lives  within  will  still  remain  its  best  ornament!" 

The  old  man  sat  up,  threw  a  passing  glance  at  the  building, 
smoothed  the  thick  gray  beard  which  clothed  his  cheeks  and 
chin,  but  left  the  lips  free,*  and  asked  abruptly:  "Why  so 
much  enthusiasm,  Phanes-,  for  this  Rhodopis?  How  long 
have  the  Athenians  been  wont  to  extol  old  women?"  At  this 
remark  the  other  smiled,  and  answered  in  a  self-satisfied  tone: 
"My  knowledge  of  the  world,  and  particularly  of  women,  is, 
I  flatter  myself,  an  extended  one,  and  yet  I  repeat,  that  in  all 
Egypt  I  know  of  no  nobler  creature  than  this  gray-haired 
woman.  When  you  have  seen  her  and  her  lovely  grandchild, 
and  heard  your  favorite  melodies  sung  by  her  well-practiced 
choir  of  slave  girls,f  I  think  you  will  thank  me  for  having 
brought  you  hither." 

"Yet,"  answered  the  Spartan  gravely,  "I  should  not  have 
accompanied  you,  if  I  had  not  hoped  to  meet  Phryxus,  the 
Delphian,  here." 

"You  will  find  him  here;  and  besides,  I  cannot  but  hope 
that  the  songs  will  cheer  you,  and  dispel  your  gloomy 
thoughts."  Aristomachus  shook  his  head  in  denial  and 
answered:  "To  you,  sanguine  Athenians,  the  melodies  of 
your  country  may  be  cheering,  but  not  to  me,  as  in  many 
a  sleepless  night  of  dreams  my  longings  will  be  doubled, 
not  stilled  by  the  songs  of  Alkman."$ 

*The  Spartans  were  not  in  the  habit  of  wearing  a  beard  on  the 
upper  lip. 

tThe  Greeks  often  entertained  their  guests  during  the  banquet 
with  music,  and  in  the  Egyptian  pictures,  women  singing  or  playing 
on  the  double-flute,  blind  harpers,  etc.,  are  generally  to  be  seen  at 
the  feasts. 

JAlkman  (Attic.,  Alkmaeon)  flourished  in  Sparta  about  650  B.  C. 
His  mother  was  a  Lydian  slave  in  Sardes,  and  he  came  into  the  pos- 
session of  Agesides,  who  gave  him  his  freedom.  His  beautiful  songs 
soon  procured  him  the  rights  of  a  Lacedaemonian  citizen.  He  was 
appointed  to  the  head  dictatorship  in  the  entire  department  of  music 
in  Lacedaemon  and  succeeded  in  naturalizing  the  soft  Lydian  music, 
brought  in  by  Polymnestes,  there.  After  a  life  devoted  to  song,  the 
pleasures  of  the  table  and  of  love,  he  is  said  to  have  died  of  a  fearful 
disease.  From  the  frequent  choruses  of  virgins  (Partheniad)  said 
to  have  been  originally  introduced  by  him,  his  frequent  songs  in 
praise  of  women,  and  the  friendly  relations  in  which  he  stood  to  the* 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  5 

"Do  you  think,  then,"  replied  Phanes,  "that  I  have  no  long- 
ing for  my  beloved  Athens,  for  the  scenes  of  our  youthful 
games,  for  the  busy  life  of  the  market?  Truly,  the  bread  of 
exile  is  not  less  distasteful  to  my  palate  than  to  yours,  but, 
in  the  society  afforded  by  this  house,  it  loses  some  of  its  bit- 
terness, and  when  the  dear  melodies  of  Hellas,  so  perfectly 
sung,  fall  on  my  ear,  my  native  land  rises  before  me  as  in  a 
vision,  I  see  its  pine  and  olive  grove,  its  cold,  emerald  green 
rivers,  its  blue  sea,  the  shimmer  of  its1  towns,  its  snowy  moun- 
tain-tops and  marble  temples,  and  a  half  sweet,  half  bitter  tear 
steals  -down  my  cheek  as  the  music  ceases,  and  I  awake  to 
remember  that  I  am  in  Egypt,  in  this  monotonous,  hot,  eccen- 
tric country,  which,  the  gods  be  praised,  I  am  soon  about 
to  quit.  But,  Aristomachus,  would  you  then  avoid  the  few 
oases  in  the  desert,  because  you  must  afterward  return  to  its 
sands  and  drought?  Would  you  fly  from  one  happy  hour 
because  days  of  sadness  await  you  later?  But  stop,  here  we 
are!  Show  a  cheerful  countenance,  my  friend,  for  it  becomes 
us  not  to  enter  the  temple  of  the  Charites*  with  sad  hearts." 

As  Phanes  uttered  these  words  they  landed  at  the  garden 
wall,  washed  by  the  Nile.  The  Athenian  bounded  lightly 
from  the  boat,  the  Spartan  following  with  a  heavier,  firmer 
tread.  Aristomachus  had  a  wooden  leg,  but  his  step  was  so 
firm,  even  when  compared  with  that  of  the  light-footed  Phanes, 
that  it  might  have  been  thought  to  be  his  own  limb. 

The  garden  of  Rhodopis  was  as  full  of  sound,  and  scent 
and  blossom  as  a  night  in  fairyland.  It  was  one  labyrinth  of 
acanthus-shrubs,  yellow  mimosa,  the  snowy  guelder-roses, 
jasmine  and  lilac,  red  roses  and  laburnums,  overshadowed 
by  tall  palm-trees,  acacias  and  balsam-trees.  Large  bats  hov- 
ered softly  on  their  delicate  wings  over  the  whole,  and  sounds 
of  mirth  and  song  echoed  from  the  river. 

This  garden  had  been  laid  out  by  an  Egyptian,  and  the 


Spartan  women  (more  especially  to  the  fair  Megalostrata),  he  gained 
his  name  of  the  woman's  f>oet.  His  paeans  and  hymns  are  also 
celebrated.  The  fragments  of  his  poems  have  been  collected  by 
Welcker  and  are  to  be  found  in  Bergk's  "Poeta  Lyrici  Graeci.  Alcrn." 
fr.  German  in  Hartung's  "Die  Griechischen  Lyriker,"  Greek  with  a 
metrical  translation. 

*The  goddesses  of  grace  and  beauty,  better  known  by  their  Roman 
name  of  "Graces." 


6  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

builders  of  the  Pyramids  had  already  been  celebrated  for 
ages  for  their  skill  in  horticulture.*  They  well  understood 
how  to  mark  out  neat  flower-beds-,  plant  groups  of  trees  and 
shrubs  in  regular  order,  water  the  whole  by  aqueducts  and 
fountains,  arrange  arbors  and  summer-houses,  and  even  inclose 
the  walks  with  artistically  clipped  hedges,  and  breed  goldfish 
in  stone  basins. 

At  the  garden  gate  Phanes  stopped,  looked  around  him 
carefully  and  listened;  then  shaking  his  head,  "I  do  not 
understand  what  this  can  mean,"  he  said.  "I  hear  no  voices, 
there  is  not  a  single  light  to  be  seen,  the  boats1  are  all  gone, 
and  yet  the  flag  is  still  flying  at  its  gay  flagstaff,  there,  by 
the  obelisks  on  each  side  of  the  gate.f  Rhodopis-  must  surely 
be  from  home;  can  they  have  forgotten — 

Here  a  deep  voice  suddenly  interrupted  him  with  the  excla- 
mation, "Ha!  the  commander  of  the  bodyguard!" 

"A  pleasant  evening  to  you,  Knakias,"  exclaimed  Phanes, 
kindly  greeting  the  old  man,  who  now  came  up. 

"But  how  is  it  that  this  garden  is  still  as  an  Egyptian 
tomb,  and  yet  the  flag  of  welcome  is  fluttering  at  the  gate? 
How  long  has  that  white  ensign  waved  for  guests  in  vain?" 

"How  long,  indeed?"  echoed  the  old  slave  of  Rhodopis, 
with  a  smile.  "So  long  as  the  Fates  graciously  spare  the 
life  of  my  mistress,  the  old  flag  is  sure  to  waft  as  many  guests 
hither  as  the  house  is  able  to  contain.  Rhodopis  is  not  at 
home  now,  but  she  must  return  shortly.  The  evening  being 
so  fine,  she  determined  on  taking  a  pleasure  trip  on  the  Nile 
with  her  guests.  They  started  at  sunset  two  hours  ago,  and 
the  evening  meal  is  already  prepared  ;$  they  cannot  remain 
away  much  longer.  I  pray  you,  Phanes,  to  have  patience  and 
follow  me  into  the  house.  Rhodopis  would  not  easily  forgive 
me,  if  I  allowed  such  valued  guests  to  depart.  You  stranger," 
he  added,  turning  to  the  Spartan,  "I  entreat  most  heartily  to 

""Wilkinson,"  ii,  136-145.  Rosellini  "Monument!  Civili,"  pi.  68 
and  69. 

tObelisks  bearing  the  name  of  the  owner  were  sometimes  to  be  seen 
near  the  gates  of  the  Egyptian  country  houses.  Flags,  too,  were  not 
uncommon,  but  these  were  almost  exclusively  to  be  found  at  the  gates 
ef  the  temples,  where  to  this  day  the  iron  sockets  for  the  flagstaffs 
can  still  be  seen.  Neither  were  flags  unknown  to  the  Greeks. 

tThe  principal  meal,  especially  at  Athens  (the  Deipnon,  c5«7nw)  was 
taken  late  in  the  day. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  7 

remain;  as  friend  of  your  friend  you  will  be  doubly  welcome 
to  my  mistress." 

The  two  Greeks-,  following  the  servant,  seated  themselves 
in  an  arbor,  and  Aristomachus,  after  gazing  on  the  scene 
around  him,  now  brilliantly  lighted  by  the  moon,  said: 
"Explain  to  me,  Phanes,  by  what  good  fortune  this  Rhodopis, 
formerly  only  a  slave  and  courtesan,*  can  now  live  as  a  queen, 
and  receive  her  guests  in  this  princely  manner?" 

"I  have  long  expected  this  question,"  answered  the  Athe- 
nian. "I  shall  be  delighted  to  make  you  acquainted  with  the 
past  history  of  this  woman  before  you  enter  her  house.  So 
long  as  we  were  on  the  Nile  I  would  not  intrude  my  tale 
upon  you;  that  ancient  river  has  a  wonderful  power  of  com- 
pelling to  silence  and  quiet  contemplation.  Even  my  usually 
quick  tongue  was  paralyzed  like  yours,  when  I  took  my  first 
night-journey  on  the  Nile." 

"I  thank  you  for  this,"  replied  the  Spartan.  "When  I  first 
saw  the  aged  priest  Epimenides-,f  at  Knossus  in  Crete,  he  was 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years  old,  and  I  remember  that  his  age 
and  sanctity  filled  me  with  a  strange  dread;  but  how  far 
older,  how  far  more  sacred,  is  this  hoary  river,  the  ancient 
stream  '  Aigyptos' !$  Who  would  wish  to  avoid  the  power  of 
his  spells'?  Now,  however,  I  beg  you  to  give  me  the  history 
of  Rhodopis." 

*The  mistresses  (Hetaere)  of  the  Greeks  must  not  be  compared 
with  modern  women  of  bad  reputation.  The  better  members  of  this 
class  represented  the  intelligence  and  culture  of  their  sex  in  Greece, 
and  more  especially  in  the  Ionian  provinces.  As  an  instance  we  need 
only  recall  Aspasia  and  her  well-attested  relation  to  Pericles  and 
Socrates.  Our  heroine  Rhodopis  was  a  celebrated  woman.  The 
Hetaera,  Thargalia  of  Miletus,  became  the  wife  of  a  Thessalian  king. 
Ptolemy  Lagi  married  Thai's;  her  daughter  was  called  Irene,  and 
her  sons  Leontiskus  and  Lagus.  ("Athen.,"  xiii,  p.  576.)  Finally, 
statues  were  erected  to  many.  This  subject  is  treated  in  the  best 
manner  in  F.  Jakob's  "Miscellaneous  Writings,"  iv,  and  Becker's 
"Charikles,"  ii,  p.  51-69.  More  will  be  said  on  it  in  our  text. 

'tEpimenides,  a  priest  of  Zeus  at  Knossus  in  Crete.  According  to 
Pliny  he  died  at  the  age  of  two  hundred  and  ninety-nine  years;  ac- 
cording to  Xenophanes  of  Kqlophon,  his  contemporary,  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty-four  years.  Laertius  Diogenes  relates  that  he  could  die  and 
restore  'himself  to  life  at  pleasure.  As  he  was  in  Sparta  in  576,  the 
aged  Aristomachus  could  well  have  seen  him. 

$The  Nile  was  called  "Aigyptos"  by  the  Greeks  in  ancient  times; 
see  Homer's  "Odyssey,"  iv,  478. 


8  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

Phanes  began:  "When  Rhodopis  was  a  little  child  play- 
ing with  her  companions  on  the  Thracian  seashore,  she  was 
stolen  by  some  Phoenician  mariners,  carried  to  Samos,  and 
bought  by  Jadmon,  one  of  the  geomori,  or  landed  aristocracy 
of  the  island.  The  little  girl  grew  day  by  day  more  beautiful, 
graceful  and  clever,  and  was  soon  an  object  of  love  and 
admiration  to  all  who  knew  her.  Aesop,*  the  fable-writer, 
who  was  at  that  time  also  in  bondage  to  Jadmon,  took  an 
especial  pleasure  in  the  growing  amiability  and  talents  of  the 
child,  taught  her  and  cared  for  her  in  the  same  way  as  the 
tutors  whom  we  keep  to  educate  our  Athenian  boys. 

"The  kind  teacher  found  his  pupil  tractable  and  quick  of 
comprehension,  and  the  little  slave  soon  practiced  the  arts 
of  music,  singing  and  eloquence,  in  a  more  charming  and 
agreeable  manner  than  the  sons  of  her  master  Jadmon,  on 
whose  education  the  greatest  care  had  been  lavished.  By 
the  time  she  had  reached  her  fourteenth  year  Rhodopis  was 
so  beautiful  and  accomplished  that  the  jealous  wife  of  Jad- 
mon would  not  suffer  her  to  remain  any  longer  in  the  house, 
and  the  Samian  was  forced,  with  a  heavy  heart,  to  sell  her 
to  a  certain  Xanthus.  The  government  of  Samos  at  that 
time  was  still  in  the  hands  of  the  less  opulent  nobles;  had 
Polykrates  then  been  at  the  head  of  affairs-  Xanthus  need  not 
have  despaired  of  a  purchaser.  These  tyrants  filled  their 
treasuries  as  the  magpies  their  nests !  As  it  was,  however,  he 
went  off  with  his  precious  jewel  to  Naukratis,  and  there  gained 

*Aesop  (620-550)  was,  according  to  Herodotus,  a  Thracian,  according 
to  others  a  Phrygian,  or  a  native  of  Mesembria,  a  Milesian  colony  on 
the  Black  Sea.  He  was  sold  as  a  slave  to  Jadmon  the  Samian,  served 
in  the  same  house  with  Rhodopis  and  at  the  same  time,  and  afterward 
received  his  freedom,  "Herod.,"  ii,  134.  Having  attained  celebrity 
by  his  fables,  he  is  said  to  have  taken-up  the  calling  of  an  advocate, 
and  to  have  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  Croesus.  In  his  old  age  he  was 
sent  by  the  latter  on  a  commission  to  Delphi;  there  the  offended 
priests  accused  him  of  having  stolen  a  golden  vessel,  he  was  unjustly 
condemned  to  death,  and  thrown  over  the  Delphian  rocks.  In  after 
times  every  tale  taken  from  the  natural  life  of  men  and  animals  and 
practically  illustrating  some  moral  was  called  after  Aesop's  fables. 
On  himself  and  his  fables  see  Grauert  "De  Aesopo  et  Fabulis  Aeso- 
piis."  Bonn,  1825.  It  has  lately  been  maintained,  more  especially  by 
Ziindel,  "Revue  Archeol.,"  iii,  p.  354,  and  on  good  grounds,  that  the 
origin  of  the  Aesopian  fables  is  to  be  found  in  Egypt.  The  universal 
belief  assigns  India  as  the  birthplace  of  fables  about  animals. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  9 

a  fortune  by  means  of  her  wondrous  charms.  Thes-e  were 
three  years  of  the  deepest  humiliation  to  Rhodopis,  which 
she  still  remembers  with  horror. 

"Now  it  happened,  just  at  the  time  when  her  fame  was 
spreading  through  all  Greece,  and  strangers  were  coming 
from  far  to  Naukratis  for  her  sake  alone,*  that  the  people 
of  Lesbos  rose  up  against  their  nobles,  drove  them  forth  and 
chose  the  wise  Pittakus  as  their  ruler.  The  highest  families 
of  Lesbos  were  forced  to  leave  the  country,  and  fled,  some 
to  Sicily,  some  to  the  Greek  provinces  of  Italy,  and  others  to 
Egypt.  Alcaeus,f  the  greatest  poet  of  his  day,  and  Charaxus, 

*  According  to  Herodotus  the  beauty  of  Rhodopis  was  so  great  that 
every  Greek  knew  her  by  name. 

fAlcaeus,  a  friend  and  contemporary  of  Sappho,  and  descended  like 
her  from  one  of  the  highest  noble  families  of  Lesbos,  may  take  rank 
among  the  best  lyric  poets  of  antiquity.  Endowed  with  all  the 
advantages,  and  not  less  with  all  the  pride  and  prejudices  of  his 
class,  he  devoted  himself,  body  and  soul,  in  prose  and  in  song,  to 
the  overthrow  of  the  tyrants,  the  expulsion  of  the  Athenian  settlers 
from  Sigaeum  and  the  retention  of  the  supremacy  in  the  hands  of  the 
nobles,  who  were  making  a  powerful  resistance  to  the  tyrants 
Melanchrus,  Megalagyrus,  Myrsilus,  and  the  Kleanaktidae.  He  was 
unsuccessful  in  his  two  last  enterprises,  and,  when  Pittakus  attained 
to  the  leadership  of  the  people,  was  forced,  with  his  brothers  and 
the  rest  of  his  party,  to  fly  from  Lesbos.  The  former  entered  the 
army  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Assyria;  the  latter,  and  with  them 
Alcaeus,  wandered  forth  into  the  world  at  large.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  he  and  Charaxus,  the  brother  of  Sappho,  were  together  for 
some  time  in  Naukratis.  When  Pittakus  had  completed  the  code  of 
laws  to  which  he  owes  the  name  of  a  philosopher,  he  recalled  the 
exiles  and  forgave  Alcaeus,  notwithstanding  the  bitter  verses  which 
the  latter  had  written  upon  him  even  during  his  banishment.  His 
songs  breathe  "the  spirit  of  the  Mitylenian  nobles,  bread  and  edu- 
cated as  aristocrats,  proud  in  the  consciousness  of  their  own  high 
position,  and  secure  of  the  most  unrivaled  prerogatives,  dividing 
their  time  between  action  and  enjoyment,  and  keeping  up  a  light 
heart  even  in  the  deepest  misfortune."  His  was  a  burning  genius 
which  burst  into  song  whenever  a  fresh  joy  gladdened  or  a  sorrow 
crushed  his  spirit;  he  could  not  but  sing,  and  therefore  his  songs 
took  the  most  perfect  forms.  In  his  transparency  and  wonderful 
ease,  his  freedom  from  aspiration  and  enjoyment  of  the  present 
moment,  he  must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  remarkable  fore- 
-  runners  of  Horace,  who  adopted  not  only  his  meters,  but  many  of  his 
ideas.  His  relation  to  Sappho,  mentioned  in  the  text,  can  be  proved 
from  occasional  fragments  of  his  writings.  They  are  to  be  found  in 
"A  Matthiae  Alcaei  Reliquiae."  L.  1827.  Also  Welcker,  "Kleine 
Schriften,"  i,  pp.  126-147,  and  Bergk,  "Lyr,  gr.  ed.,"  i,  pp.  569-598. 
Hartung,  "Die  Griechischen  Lyriker,  Griechisch  mit  Metrischer 


10  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

the  brother  of  that  Sappho*  whose  odes  it  was  our  Solon's  last 

Uebersetzung,"  v,  p.  18.  His  likeness  as  a  statue  has  been  found  near 
Monte  Calvo  and  answers  entirely  to  the  above-mentioned  description 
of  his  character.  There  is  also  a  very  fine  statue  in  the  Villa  Borghese 
at  Rome,  which  probably  represents  our  poet.  Braun,  "Ruinen  und 
Museen  Roms.,"  p.  548. 

*The  celebrated  poetess  Sappho,  according  to  Athenaeus,  lived  in 
the  time  of  Alyattes,  king  of  Lydia,  therefore  between  620-563  B.  C.; 
according  to  the  Chronicle  of  Eusebius  in  the  44th  Olympiad,  or 
about  600  B.  C.  She  is  also  mentioned  as  a  contemporary  of  Pittakus, 
Alcaeus  and  Rhodopis,  which  coincides  with  the  above  statement. 
We  can  scarcely  be  in  error  if  we  fix  the  time  of  her  birth  at 
Mitylene  in  Lesbos,  about  the  year  620  B.  C.  Her  father's  name  was 
Skamandronymus  or  Skamon.  For  this  we  have  not  only  the 
authority  of  Herodotus,  Aelian,  and  other  ancient  writers,  but  also 
of  Welcker,  Bernhardy,  Richter  and  others.  Her  mother  and  her 
daughter  both  bore  the  name  of  Kle'is.  Beside  the  brother  spoken 
of  in  our  tale  (Charaxus),  she  had  another,  named  Larichus,  who  is 
said  by  Athenaeus  to  have  held  a  high  preferment  in  the  Prytanaeum 
at  Mitylene.  From  this,  and  from  the  fact  that  Sappho  and  Charaxus 
were  both  exiled  at  the  time  of  Pittakus,  it  is  evident  that  they  be- 
longed to  a  family  of  very  high  degree.  They  must  also  have  been 
wealthy,  or  Charaxus  could  not,  as  Herodotus  relates,  have  bought 
Rhodopis.  Suidas  calls  Cerkolas,  the  husband  of  Sappho,  expressly, 
a  very  rich  man.  Among  her  admirers,  her  celebrated  contemporary 
Alcaeus  must  not  be  overlooked,  while  Bernhardy's  well-known 
story  of  her  unfortunate  passion  for  the  young  Phaon  must  be  re- 
garded as  a  fable.  The  story  that  Anacreon  dedicated  certain  love 
verses  to  Sappho  is  equally  untrue,  as  he  flourished  some  thirty  or 
forty  years  later,  and  the  verses  were  intended  for  another  Lesbian 
woman.  Her  impure  passion  for  beautiful  young  girls  and  her  leap 
from  the  Leukadian  rocks  are  also  totally  fabulous.  See  Welcker, 
F.  W.  Richter,  Bernhardy  and  Kochly.  Of  Sappho's  appearance  we 
know  but  little.  Plato,  Plutarch  and  others  call  her  "the  beautiful 
Sappho."  Alcaeus  praises  her  black  hair  and  her  charming  smile. 
Welcker  reckons  her  to  the  celebrated  beauties  of  antiquity.  She 
was  frequently  represented  on  the  coins,  in  the  pictures  and  statues 
of  her  native  land,  but  it  seems  that  between  these  representations 
there  were  great  differences.  One  of  her  pictures  is  thus  described  by 
Democharis: 

Nature  herself  the  magic  portrait  drew, 
And,  painter,  gave  thy  Lesbian  Muse  to  view. 
Light  sparkles  in  her  eyes;  and  fancy  seems 
The  radiant  fountain  of  those  living  beams; 
Through  the  smooth  fullness  of  the  unclouded  skin 
Looks  out  the  clear  ingenuous  soul  within, 
Joy  melts  to  fondness  in  her  glistening  face 
And  love  and  music  breathe  a  mingled  grace. 

— Translated  by  Rev.  Dr.  Hodgson. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  11 

wish  to  learn  by  heart,  came  here  to  Naukratis,  which  had 
already  long  been  the  flourishing  center  of  commercial  com- 
munication between  Egypt  and  the  rest  of  the  world.  Char- 
axus  saw  Rhodopis,  and  soon  loved  her  so  passionately  that 
he  gave  an  immense  sum  to  secure  her  from  the  mercenary 
Xanthus,  who  was  on  the  point  of  returning  with  her  to  his 
own  country;  Sappho  wrote  some  biting  verses-,  derisive  of 
her  brother  and  his  purchase,  but  Alcaeus,  on  the  other  hand, 
approved,  and  gave  expression  to  his  feelings  in  glowing 
songs  on  the  charms  of  Rhodopis.  And  now  Sappho's  brother, 
who  had  till  then  remained  undistinguished  among  the  many 
strangers  at  Naukratis,  became  a  noted  man  through  Rho- 
dopis-.  His  house  was  soon  the  center  of  attraction  to  all 
foreigners,  by  whom  she  was  overwhelmed  with  gifts.  The 
king  Hophra,*  hearing  of  her  beauty  and  talent,  sent  for 

Thousands  of  songs  were  dedicated  to  her;  we  will  only  mention 
here  the  two  following  epigrams  by  Pinytus,  and  Antipater  of  Sidon, 
taken  from  F.  Jacob's  "Griechischen  Blumenlese:" 

"This  tomb  has  Sappho's  bones  and  idle  name, 
But  her  wise  words  have  won  immortal  fame." 

"Sappho  my  name.    When  Homer's  song  divine 
Man  hath  surpassed,  may  maiden  rival  mine." 

Sappho  wrote  in  the  Aeolic  manner.  2A4>0  is  only  to  be  found  on 
a  vase  in  Vienna,  and  Welcker  believes  is  an  error  in  the  writing 
alone.  See  the  fragments  of  her  poems,  Bergk,  "Lyr.  Grec."  ed.,  ii. 
There  is  a  first-rate  lecture  on  Sappho  to  be  found  in  Koechly's 
"Academical  Lectures  and  Discourses,"  p.  153  and  following.  Solon's 
wish,  alluded  to  in  the  text,  was  expressed  to  his  nephew.  "Stobaeus 
Serm.,"  xxix,  28. 

*For  this  king  we  have  chosen  his  Biblical  name,  Hophra.  Among 
the  Greeks  he  was  called  Uaphris  and  Apries.  The  hieroglyphical 
signs  for  his  name  (see  Lepsius,  Konigsbuch,  T.  48)  produce  Uah-pji- 
ra-het,  from  whence  comes  the  paraphrases  Uaphris  and  Hophra 
(Uah-ph-ra).  He  reigned  from  588-569.  The  correctness  of  these 
figures  can  be  certified,  first,  by  the  existing  agreement  in  the  dates, 
but  more  still  by  Mariette's  discovery  of  the  Apis  tombs,  the  inscrip- 
tions on  which  throw  an  especially  strong  light  on  the  reigns  of  the 
twenty-sixth  dynasty  of  kings,  to  which  Hophra  belonged.  He  was 
dethroned  by  Amasis  (who,  according  to  Athenaeus,  was  his  friend), 
during  an  insurrection  mentioned  by  the  prophets  of  the  old  Cove- 
nant, Jeremiah,  xliv,  30,  xlvi,  24-26,  and  described  more  in  detail  by 
Herodotus,  "Herod.,"  ii,  169, 


12  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

her  to  Memphis,  and  offered  to  buy  her  of  Charaxtis,  but  the 
latter  had  already  long,  though  secretly,  given  Rhodopis  her 
freedom,  and  loved  her  far  too  well  to  allow  of  a  separation. 
She,  too,  loved  the  handsome  Lesbian  and  refused  to  leave 
him  despite  the  brilliant  offers  made  to  her  on  all  sides.  At 
length  Charaxus  made  this  wonderful  woman  his  lawful  wife, 
and  continued  to  live  with  her  and  her  little  daughter  Kleis 
in  Naukratis,  until  the  Lesbian  exiles  were  recalled  to  their 
native  land  by  Pittakus.  He  then  started  homeward  with  his 
wife,  but  fell  ill  on  the  journey,  and  died  soon  after  his  arrival 
at  Mitylene.  Sappho,  who  had  derided  her  brother  for  mar- 
rying one  beneath  him,  soon  became  an  enthusiastic  admirer 
of  the  beautiful  widow  and  rivaled  Alcaeus  in  passionate  songs 
to  her  praise. 

"After  the  death  of  the  poetess,  Rhodopis  returned,  with 
her  little  daughter,  to  Naukratis,  where  she  was  welcomed 
as  a  goddess.  During  this  interval  Amasis,*  the  present  king 
of  Egypt,  had  usurped  the  throne  of  the  Pharaohs,  and  was 
maintaining  himself  in  its  possession  by  help  of  the  army, 
to  which  caste  he  belonged.  As  his  predecessor  H-ophra  had 
accelerated  his  fall,  and  brought  the  army  and  priesthood  to 
open  rebellion  by  his  predilection  for  the  Greek  nation,  and 
for  intercourse  with  foreigners  generally  (always  an  abom- 
ination in  the  eyes-  of  the  Egyptians),  men  felt  confident  that 
Amasis  would  return  to  the  old  ways,  would  rigorously  exclude 
foreigners  from  the  country,  f  dismiss  the  Greek  mercenaries, 
and  instead  of  taking  counsel  from  the  Greeks,  would  hearken 

*Amasis,  of  whom  much  will  be  said  in  our  text,  reigned  570-526 
B.  C.  His  name,  in  the  hieroglyphic  signs,  was  Aahmes  or  young 
moon  (Lepsius,  "Konigsbuch,"  pi.  48,  8)  but  the  name  by  which  he 
was  commonly  called  was  Sa-Nit,  "Son  of  Neith."  His  name  and 
pictures  of  him  are  to  be  found  on  stones  in  the  fortress  of  Cairo,  on 
a  relief  in  Florence,  a  statue  in  the  Vatican,  on  sarcophagi  in  Stock- 
holm and  London,  a  statue  in  the  Villa  Albani  and  on  a  little  temple 
of  red  granite  at  Leyden. 

tin  their  relations  with  foreigners  the  Egyptians  may  be  compared 
with  the  Japanese  of  our  own  times.  Every  man  not  an  Egyptian 
was  hateful  to  them,  and  yet,  from  the  earliest  times  they  had  been 
compelled  to  admit  foreigners  into  their  land.  Indeed,  they  could 
not  prevent  the  Phoenicians,  who,  like  the  Spaniards  and  Portuguese 
in  Japan  in  the  sixteenth  century,  had  the  whole  foreign  trade  of 
the  country  in  their  hands,  from  gaining  considerable  influence,  not 
only  in  all  classes  of  Egyptian  life,  but  even  over  the  religious  con- 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  13 

Only  to  the  commands  of  the  priesthood.  But  in  this,  as  you 
must  see  yourself,  the  prudent  Egyptians-  had  guessed  wide 
of  the  mark  in  their  choice  of  a  ruler;  they  fell  from  Scylla 
into  Charybdis.  If  Hophra  was  called  the  Greeks'  friend, 
Amasis  must  be  named  our  lover.  The  Egyptians,  especially 
the  priests  and  the  army,  breathe  fire  and  flame,  and  would 
fain  strangle  us  one  and  all,  off-hand.  This  feeling  on  the 
part  of  the  soldiery  does  not  disturb  Amasis,  for  he  knows  too 
well  the  comparative  value  of  their  and  our  services;  but  with 
the  priests  it  is  another  and  more  serious  matter,  for  two  rea- 
sons: first,  they  possess  an  unbounded  influence  over  the 
people;  and  secondly,  Amasis  himself  retains-  more  affection 
than  he  likes  to  acknowledge  to  us,  for  this  absurd  and  insipid 
religion* — a  religion  which  appears  doubly  sacred  to  its  adher- 
ents simply  because  it  has  existed  in  this  eccentric  landf — 
unchanged  for  thousands  of  years.  These  priests  make  the 
king's  life  burdensome  to  him;  they  persecute  and  injure  us 
in  every  possible  way;  and,  indeed,  if  it  had  not  been  for  the 
king's  protection,  I  should  long  ago  have  been  a  dead  man. 
But  I  am  wandering  from  my  tale!  As  I  said  before,  Rhodopis 
was  received  at  Naukratis  with  open  arms  by  all,  and  loaded 
with  marks  of  favor  by  Amasis,  who  formed  her  acquaintance. 
Her  daughter  Kle'is — as  is  the  case  with  the  little  Sappho  now 
— was  never  allowed  to  appear  in  the  society  which  assembled 
ever)r  evening  at  her  mother's-  house,  and  indeed  was  even 
more  strictly  brought  up  than  the  other  young  girls  in  Nauk- 
ratis. She  married  Glaucus,  a  rich  Phocaean  merchant  of  noble 
family,  who  had  defended  his  native  town  with  great  bravery 
against  the  Persians,  and  with  him  departed  to  the  newly 
founded  Massilia,$  on  the  Celtic  coast  There,  however,  the 

sciousness  of  the  people.  As  in  Japan  the  Iberians  were  succeeded 
by  the  Dutch,  so  did  the  Greeks  follow  the  Phoenicians  in  Egypt,  and 
after  the  Persian  invasion  and  Alexander's  expedition  they  ruled  in 
the  valley  of  the  Nile. 

*We  know  that  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptian  priesthood  was  highly 
esteemed  by  the  Greeks;  but  many  passages  in  the  classic  writers 
prove  that  the  religion  itself  was  looked  upon  by  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  who  only  saw  the  eccentric  forms  in  which  it  was  clothed, 
as  absurd  and  insipid. 

f'Herod.,"  ii,  35. 

tMassalia,  the  present  Marseilles,  was  founded  by  a  colony  from 
Phocaea,  an  Ionian  town  on  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  which,  nineteen 


14  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

young  couple  both  fell  victims  to  the  climate,  and  died,  leaving 
a  little  daughter,  Sappho.  Rhodopis  at  once  undertook  the 
long  journey  westward,  brought  the  orphan  child  back  to  live 
with  her,  spent  the  utmost  care  on  her  education,  and,  now 
that  she  is  grown  up,  forbids  her  the  society  of  men,  still  feel- 
ing the  stains  of  her  own  youth  so  keenly  that  she  would  fain 
keep  her  granddaughter  (and  this  in  Sappho's  case  is  not 
difficult),  at  a  greater  distance  from  contact  with  our  sex  than 
is  rendered  necessary  by  the  customs  of  Egypt.  To  my  friend 
herself  society  is  as  indispensable  as  water  to  the  fish  or  air 
to  the  bird.  Her  house  is  frequented  by  all  the  strangers  here, 
and  whoever  has  once  experienced  her  hospitality  and  has  the 
time  at  command  will  never  after  be  found  absent  when  the 
flag  announces  an  evening  of  reception.  Every  Greek  of  mark 
is  to  be  found  here,  as  it  is  in  this  house  that  we  consult  on  the 
wisest  measures1  for  encountering  the  hatred  of  the  priests  and 
bringing  the  king  around  to  our  own  views.  Here  you  can 
obtain  not  only  the  latest  news  from  home,  but  from  the  rest 
of  the  world,  and  this  house  is  an  inviolable  sanctuary  for  the 
persecuted,  Rhodopis  possessing  a  royal  warrant  which  secures 
her  from  molestation  on  the  part  of  the  police.*  Our  own 
songs  and  our  own  language  are  to  be  heard  here,  and  here 
we  take  counsel  on  the  best  means  for  delivering  Greece  from 
the  ever  fresh  encroachments  of  her  tyrants.f 

"In  a  word,  this  house  is  the  center  of  attraction  for  all 


years  before  the  beginning  of  our  tale,  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
the  Persians,  the  entire  body  of  its  citizens  having  fled  to  their  ships. 
It  is  probable  that  before  the  inhabitants  of  Asia  Minor  settled  there, 
a  Phoenician  factory  stood  on  the  site  of  Massalia.  At  all  events, 
we  find  the  Phoenicians  later  as  joint  possessors  of  the  place,  proof 
of  which  is  borne  not  only  by  classical  authority,  but  by  the  inscrip- 
tions and  monuments  discovered  there.  The  word  Celt  was  applied 
by  the  ancient  Greeks  not  only  to  the  Gauls,  but  also  to  the  German 
and  Iberian  races. 

*A  very  active  and  strict  police  force  existed  in  Egypt,  the  organi- 
zation of  which  is  said  to  have  owed  much  to  Amasis'  care.  We  also 
read  in  inscriptions  and  papyrus  rolls  that  a  body  of  mounted  police 
existed,  the  ranks  of  which  were  generally  filled  by  foreigners  in 
preference  to  natives. 

tShortly  before  the  date  of  our  narrative  seyeral  ambitious  Greeks 
had  succeeded  in  overthrowing  the  oligarchy  and  obtaining  the  su- 
preme power,  among  others  Pisistratus  of  Athens  (died  527),  Poly- 
krates  of  Samos  (died  522),  and  Lygdamis  of  Naxos  (died  524). 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  15 

Hellenic  interests  in  Egypt,  and  of  more  importance  to  us 
politically,  than  our  temple,  the  Hellenion  itself,  and  our  hall 
of  commerce.* 

"In  a  few  minutes  you  will  see  this  remarkable  grandmother, 
and,  if  we  should  be  here  alone,  perhaps  the  grandchild  too; 
you  will  then  at  once  perceive  that  they  owe  everything  to 
their  own  rare  qualities  and  not  to  the  chances  of  good  fortune. 
Ah,  there  they  come !  they  are  going  toward  the  house.  Can- 
not you  hear  the  slave-girls  singing?  Now  they  are  going  in. 
First  let  them  quietly  be  seated,  then  follow  me,  and  when  the 
evening  is  over  you  shall  say  whether  you  repent  of  having 
come  hither,  and  whether  Rhodopis  resembles  more  nearly  a 
queen  or  a  freed  bond-woman." 

The  housef  was  built  in  the  Grecian  style.  It  was  a  rather 
long,  one-storied  building,  the  outside  of  which  would  be 
called  extremely  plain  in  the  present  day;  within,  it  united 
the  Egyptian  brilliancy  of  coloring  with  the  Greek  beauty  of 
form.  The  principal  door  opened  into  the  entrance-hall 
(thyroreion).  To  the  left  of  this  lay  a  large  dining-room, 
overlooking  the  Nile,  and,  opposite  to  this  last  was  the  kitchen, 
an  apartment  only  to  be  found  in  the  houses  of  the  wealthier 
Greeks,  the  poorer  families  being  accustomed  to  prepare  their 
food 'at  the  hearth  in  the  front  apartments.  The  hall  of  recep- 
tion lay  at  the  other  end  of  the  entrance-hall,  and  was  in  the 
form  of  a  square,  surrounded  within  by  a  colonnade,  into  which 
various  chambers  (oikemata)  opened.  This  was  the  apart- 
ment devoted  to  the  men  (andronitis),  in  the  center  of  which 
was  the  house-fire,  burning  on  the  altar-shaped  hearth  of  rich 
Aeginetan  metal-work4 

*See  note  p.  2. 

tOn  the  internal  arrangement  of  the  rooms  in  this  house  I  have 
followed  Becker  and  K.  F.  Hermann.  The  description  in  Barthele- 
my's  Anacharsis  taken  from  the  not  perfectly  clear  passage  in  Vitru- 
vius,  is  much  too  diffuse  for  our  purpose.  Hirt's  design  pleases  us 
less  than  most,  while  on  the  other  hand,  in  the  sketch  drawn  by 
Hermann  ("Charikles,"  ii,  99),  acute  criticism  and  good  taste  seem 
to  have  been  alike  employed  in  the  application  of  the  passage  re- 
ferred to.  A  rich  man,  as  was  Charaxus,  could  easily  have  built 
such  a  house  as  the  one  we  have  described,  though  the  private  dwell- 
ings of  the  Greeks  at  the  time  referred  to  were  probably  of  a  more 
simple  character. 

tAegina  was  very  early  celebrated  for  skill  in  the  plastic  arts. 
The  transition  from  a  typical  form  to  the  free  imitation  of  nature 


16  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

It  was  lighted  by  an  opening  in  the  roof,  which  formed,  at 
the  same  time,  an  outlet  for  the  smoke.  From  this  room  (at 
the  opposite  end  to  that  on  which  it  opened  into  the  entrance- 
hall),  a  passage,  closed  by  a  well-fastened  door  (metaulos 
thyra),  led  :nto  the  chamber  of  the  women  (gynaekonitis). 
This  was  also  surrounded  by  a  colonnade  within,  but  only  on 
three  sides,  and  here  the  female  inhabitants  were  accustomed 
to  pass:  chsir  time,  when  not  employed,  spinning  or  weaving, 
in  the  rooms  lying  near  the  back  or  garden-door  (kepaia 
thyra)  as  it  was  termed.  Between  these  latter  and  the  domestic 
office,  which  lay  on  the  right  and  left  of  the  women's  apart- 
ment, were  the  sleeping-rooms;  these  served  also  as  places 
of  security  for  the  valuables  of  the  house.  The  walls  of  the 
men's  apartment  were  painted  of  a  reddish-brown  color,  against 
which  the  outlines  of  some  white  marble  carvings,  the  gift  of 
a  Chian  sculptor,*  stood  out  in  sharp  relief.  The  floor  was 
covered  with  rich  carpets  from  Sardis;  low  cushions  of  pan- 
thers' skins  lay  ranged  along  the  colonnade ;  around  the  artist- 
ically wrought  hearth  stood  quaint  Egyptian  settees,  and  small, 
delicately  carved  tables  of  Thya  wood,f  on  which  lay  all  kinds 


can  be  more  clearly  perceived  in  early  Aeginetan  work  than. else- 
where. The  groups  from  the  pediment  of  the  temple  of  Athene  in 
Aegina,  discovered  in  1811  by  a  party  of  English,  Danish,  and  Ger- 
man travelers  and  now  in  Munich,  may  be  considered  as  the  most 
Interesting  memorials  of  old  Hellenic  art.  They  afford  sufficient 
proof  that  the  Greeks  learned  the  mechanical  part  of  the  plastic  arts, 
the  treatment  of  the  materials,  and  even  the  relative  proportions  of 
the  human  body  from  the  Egyptians,  though  even  as  scholars  they 
excelled  their  masters.  The  above-mentioned  figures  represent  com- 
bats between  the  Greeks  and  Trojans  for  the  bodies  of  fallen  Greeks, 
in  one  for  the  body  of  Achilles,  in  another  for  Oikles.  The  group, 
from  the  west  pediment,  with  the  statue  of  Athene  in  the  center,  is 
particularly  well  preserved  and  worthy  of  notice.  S.  Wagner, 
"Bericht  tiber  die  aginetischen  Bildwerke  mit  Anmerkungen  von 
Schelling,"  1817.  Gerhard,  "Vorlesungen  tiber  Gypsabgiisse,"  1844, 
s.  3-28.  Welcker,  "Antike  Denkmaler,"  i,  p.  30,  and  following.  Over- 
beck,  "Geschichte  der  griech.  Plastik,"  i,  p.  117.  Drawn  by  O.  Miil- 
ler.  "Denkmaler  d.  Kunst,"  I.  T.  6-8.  Clarac,  "Musee  de  Sculpture," 
p.  815,  821  and  following. 

*The  earliest  marble  sculptures  are  said  to  have  been  made  in 
Chios. 

tEgyptian  easy  chairs  or  settees.  "Wilkinson,"  ii,  pi.  ix,  p.  192  and 
following.  "Rosellini  Mon.  Civ.  T.,"  60,  90-91,  where  there  are  sofas 
also  not  unlike  our  own.  The  Thya  wood  was  brought  from  the  oasis 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  17 

of  musical  instruments,  the  flute,  cithara  and  lyre.  Numerous 
lamps  of  various  and  singular  shapes,  filled  with  Kiki  oil,* 
hung  against  the  walls.  Some  represented  fire-spouting  dol- 
phins; others1,  strange  winged  monsters  from  whose  jaws  the 
flame  issued,  and  these,  blending  their  light  with  that  from  the 
hearth,  illumined  the  apartment. 

In  this  room  a  group  of  men  were  assembled,  whose  ap- 
pearance and  dress  differed  one  from  the  other.  A  Syrian  from 
Tyre,  in  a  long  crimson  robe,  was  talking  animatedly  to  a 
man  whose  decided  features  and  crisp,  curly,  black  hair  pro- 
claimed him  an  Israelite.  The  latter  had  come  to  Egypt  to 
buy  chariots  and  horses  for  Zerubbabel,  the  governor  of  Judah 
— the  Egyptian  equipages  being  the  most  sought  after  at  the 
time.f  Close  to  him  stood  three  Greeks  from  Asia  Minor,  the 
rich  folds  of  whose  garments  (for  they  wore  the  costly  dress 
of  their  native  city  Miletus),  contrasted  strongly  with  the  plain 
and  unadorned  robe  of  Phryxus,  the  deputy  commis-sioned  to 
collect  money  for  the  temple  of  Apollo  at  Delphi,  with  whom 
they  were  in  earnest  conversation.  Ten  years  before  the  an- 


of  Jupiter  Ammon  in  the  Libyan  desert,  and  was  so  precious  that 
Cicero  gave  a  million  sesterces,  or  eight  thousand  two  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds  sterling,  for  one  table  made  of  this  wood. 

*0il  from  the  fruit  of  the  Palma  Christi  (ricinus  communis),  called 
by  the  Egyptians  Kiki,  and  used  for  the  purposes  of  burning  and 
anointing.  "Herod.,"  ii.  94.  Strabo  ed.  "Casaub.,"  824.  "Plinius," 
xv,  7.  "Dioscor.,"  iv,  164. 

fl  Chronicles,  iii,  17-19.  Even  Solomon,  as  early  as  1000  B.  C.  sent 
for  horses  and  chariots  from  Egypt.  A  horse  cost  one  hundred  and 
fifty,  and  a  chariot  six  hundred  shekels.  (£11.5.  and  £45.)  A  shekel, 
(translated  by  Luther  "silbering")  is  worth  about  eighteen  pence. 
I  Kings,  x,  28,  29.  II  Chronicles,  i,  16,  17.  On  the  Egyptian  monu- 
ments we  find  not  only  beautiful  horses  before  Pharaoh's  chariots, 
but  even  the  manufactories  where  the  chariots  were  built.  The 
monuments  prove  also  that  neither  horses  nor  chariots  were  intro- 
duced into  Egypt  earlier  than  2000  B.  C.  The  studs  appear  to  have 
been  kept  on  the  large  plains  in  Northern  Egypt.  We  hear  of  chief 
officers  over  the  stud  (Stela  with  the  era  of  four  hundred  years)  and 
of  Pharaohs  who  considered  the  breeding  and  condition  of  horses  in 
Egypt  as  a  matter  of  great  importance,  even  before  the  twenty-sixth 
dynasty,  to  which  Amasis  belonged.  Pianchi's  Stela.  First-rate  in- 
formation on  the  Egyptian  harness,  and  on  the  different  parts  of  the 
vehicles,  which  in  Syria  were  manufactured  with  art  and  ingenuity 
at  an  early  period,  is  to  be  found  in  Chabas,  "Analyse  des  Papyr- 
Anastasi,"  i.  "Voyage  d'un  Egyptian,"  etc. 


18  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

cient  temple  had  been  consumed  by  fire;  and  at  this  time 
efforts  were  being  made  to  build  another,  and  a  more  beautiful 
one.* 

Two  of  the  Milesians,  disciples  of  Anaximander  and  Anaxi- 
menes,f  were  staying  then  in  Egypt,  to  study  astronomy  and 
the  peculiar  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians  at  Heliopolis,  and  the 
third  was  a  wealthy  merchant  and  ship-owner,  named  Theo- 
pompus,  who  had  settled  at  Naukratis.  Rhodopis  herself  was 
engaged  in  a  lively  conversation  with  two  Samian  Greeks ;  the 
celebrated  worker  in  metals,  sculptor  and  goldsmith  Theo- 
dorus,$  and  the  Iambic  poet  Ibykus  of  Rhegium,§  who  had 
left  the  court  of  Polykrates  for  a  time  in  order  to  become 
acquainted  with  Egypt,  and  were  bearers  of  presents  to  Amasis4 


*"Herodotus,"  ii,  180.    "Pindar  Pyth.,"  7,  9. 

tAnaximander  of  Miletus,  born  611-546,  was  a  celebrated  geome- 
trician, astronomer,  philosopher  and  geographer.  He  was  the  author 
of  a  book  on  natural  phenomena,  drew  the  first  map  of  the  world  on 
metal,  and  introduced  into  Greece  a  kind  of  clock  which  he  seems  to 
have  borrowed  from  the  Babylonians.  He  supposes  a  primary  and 
not  easily  definable  Being,  by  which  the  whole  world  is  governed, 
and  in  which,  though  in  himself  infinite  and  without  limits,  every- 
thing material  and  circumscribed  has  its  foundation.  "Chaotic  mat- 
ter" represents  in  his  theory  the  germ  of  all  created  things,  from 
which  water,  earth,  animals,  nereids  or  fish-men,  human  beings,  etc., 
have  had  their  origin.  Zeller,  "Philosophic  der  Griechen,"  i,  170. 
Brandis  T.,  i,  p.  123.  Anaximenes,  570-500,  also  a  Milesian  natural 
philosopher,  considered  air  to  be  the  primary  matter  from  which  all 
things  proceeded.  Plutarch,  "Plac.  Phil.,"  i,  3,  6.  Zeller,  "Philosophie 
der  Griechen,"  i;  "Brandis  T.,"  i,  p.  141. 

JTheodorus,  descended  from  a  Samian  family  celebrated  as  artists, 
did  much  toward  the  improvement  of  architecture  and  the  artistic 
casting  of  metals. 

§Ibykus,  from  Lower  Italy,  flourished  about  530.  Polykrates  at- 
tached this  highly  cultivated  and  impassioned  poet  to  his  court.  The 
events  which  followed  his  violent  death  became  a  proverb  among  the 
ancients,  and  have  become  universally  known  in  our  own  day 
through  Schiller's  "Kraniche  des  Ibykus."  Schneidewin  collected 
the  fragments  of  his  writings.  "Ibyc.  carm.  reliq."  and  Bergk,  "Poet, 
lyr.  gr."  It  is  nowhere  mentioned  that  he  was  ever  in  Egypt,  but  we 
know  that  from  him  the  Greeks  first  learned  the  identity  of  the  morn- 
ing and  evening  star,  a  fact  long  known  to  the  Egyptians.  Achilles 
Tatius.  Isag.  in  "Arati  Phoenomen,"  in  the  "Uranolog.  Petavii,"  p. 
136.  See  Lepsius  "Chronologie,  Einleitung,"  p.  91.  This  passage, 
and  the  friendship  subsisting  between  Polykrates  and  Amasis,  make 
it  not  improbable  that  Ibykus  was  at  one  time  in  Egypt. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  1$ 

from  their  ruler.  Close  to  the  fire  lay  Philoinus  of  Sybaris,*  a 
corpulent  man  with  strongly  marked  features  and  a  sensual 
expression  of  face;  he  was  stretched  at  full  length  on  a  couch 
covered  with  spotted  furs,  and  amused  himself  by  playing  with 
his  saented  curls  wreathed  with  gold,  and  with  the  golden 
chains  which  fell  from  his  neck  onto  the  long  saffron-colored 
robe  that  clothed  him  down  to  the  feet. 

Rhodopis  had  a  kind  word  for  each  of  her  guests,  but  at 
present  she  occupied  herself  exclusively  with  the  two  cele- 
brated Samians;  their  talk  was  of  art  and  poetry.  The  fire  of 
youth  still  glowed  in  the  eyes  of  the  Thracian  woman,  her  tall 
figure  was  still  full  and  unbent;  her  hair,  though  gray,  was 
wound  round  her  beautifully  formed  head  in  luxuriant  waves, 
and  laid  together  at  the  back  in  a  golden  net,  and  a  sparkling 
diadem  shone  above  her  lofty  forehead. 

Her  noble  Greek  features  were  pale,  but  still  beautiful  and 
without  a  wrinkle,  notwithstanding  her  great  age;  indeed  her 
small  mouth  with  its  full  lips,  her  white  teeth,  her  eyes  so  bright 
and  yet  so  soft,  and  her  nobly  formed  nose  and  forehead  would 
have  been  beauty  enough  for  a  young  maiden. 

Rhodopis  looked  younger  than  she  really  was,  though  she 
made  no  attempt  to  disavow  her  age.  Matronly  dignity  was 
visible  in  every  movement,  and  the  charm  of  her  manner  lay, 
not  in  a  youthful  endeavor  to  be  pleasing,  but  in  the  effort  of  age 
to  please  others,  considering  their  wishes,  and  at  the  same  time 
demanding  consideration  in,,  return. 

Our  two  friends  now  presenting  themselves  in  the  hall, 
every  eye  turned  upon  them,  and  as  Phanes  entered  leading 
his  friend  by  the  hand,  the  heartiest  welcome  met  him  from  all 
sides;  one  of  the  Milesians  indeed  exclaimed:  "Now  I  see 
what  it  is  that  was  wanting  to  our  assembly.  There  can  be  no 
merriment  without  Phanes." 

And  Philoinus,  the  Sybarite,  raising  his  deep  voice,  but  not 
allowing  himself  for  a  moment  to  be  disturbed  in  his  repose, 
remarked:  "Mirth  is  a  good  thing,  and  if  you  bring  that  with 
you,  be  welcome  to  me  also,  Athenian." 

"To  me,"  said  Rhodopis,  turning  to  her  new  guests  "you 
are  heartily  welcome,  but  no  more  in  your  joy  than  if  borne 

*Sybaris  was  a  town  in  Lower  Italy  notorious  throughout  the 
ancient  world  for  its  luxury.  According  to  Strabo  it  was  founded  by 
Achaeans  262.  About  510  it  was  conquered  and  destroyed  by  the 
Crotoniates  and  then  rebuilt  under  the  name  of  Thurii. 


20  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

down  by  sadness.  I  know  no  greater  pleasure  than  to  remove 
the  lines  of  care  from  a  friend's  brow.  Spartan,  I  venture  to 
address  you  as  a  friend  too,  for  the  friends  of  my  -friends  are 
my  own." 

Aristomachus  bowed  in  silence,  but  Phanes,  addressing  him- 
self both  to  Rhodopis  and  to  the  Sybarite,  answered*  "Well, 
then,  my  friends,  I  can  content  you  both.  To  you,  Rhodopis, 
I  must  come  for  comfort,  for  soon,  too  soon,  I  must  leave  you 
and  your  pleasant  house;  Philoinus,  however,  can  still  enjoy 
my  mirth,  as  I  cannot  but  rejoice  in  the  prospect  of  seeing  my 
beloved  Hellas  once  more,  and  of  quitting,  even  though  in- 
voluntarily, this  golden  mouse-trap  of  a  country." 
.  "You  are  going  away!  you  have  been  dismissed?  Whither 
are  you  going?"  echoed  on  all  sides. 

"Patience,  patience,  my  friends,"  cried  Phanes.  "I  have  a 
long  story  to  tell,  but  I  will  rather  reserve  it  for  the  evening- 
meal.  And,  indeed,  dear  friend,  my  hunger  is  nearly  as-  great 
as  my  distress- at  being  obliged  to  leave  you." 

"Hunger  is  a  good  thing,"  philosophized  the  Sybarite  once 
more,  "when  a  man  has  a  good  meal  in  prospect." 

"On  that  point  you  may  be  at  ease,  Philoinus,"  answered 
Rhodopis.  "I  told  the  cook  to  do  his  utmost,  for  the  most 
celebrated  epicure  from  the  most  luxurious  city  in  the  world, 
no  less  a  person  than  Philoinus  of  Sybaris,  would  pass  a  stern 
judgment  on  his  delicate  dishes.  Go,  Knakias,  tell  them  to 
serve  the  supper.  Are  you  content  now,  my  impatient  guests? 
As  for  me,  since  I  heard  Phane"s'  mournful  news,  the  pleasure 
of  the  meal  is  gone."  The  Athenian  bowed,  and  the  Sybarite 
returned  to  his  philosophy.  "Contentment  is  a  good  thing 
when  every  wish  can  be  satisfied.  I  owe  you  thanks,  Rhodopis, 
for  your  appreciation  of  my  incomparable  native  city.  What 
says  Anakreon?* 

*Anakreon  of  Teos  was,  at  the  time  of  our  narrative,  also  living  at 
the  court  of  Polykrates.     This  celebrated,  charming  singer  of  love 
and  wine  will  be  often  mentioned  and  quoted  in  our  text.    The  pas- 
sage above  is  to  be  found  Anacr.    "Pragm.  ed.  Moebius,"  xv. 
"To-day  is  ours — what  do  we  fear? 
To-day  is  ours — we  have  it  here. 
Let's  treat  it  kindly,  that  it  may 
Wish  at  least  with  us  to  stay. 
Let's  banish  business,  banish  sorrow; 
To  the  gods  belong  to-morrow." 

— Translation  by  Cowley. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  21 

"Eh!  Ibykus,  have  I  quoted  your  friend  the  poet,  correctly, 
who  feasts  with  you  at  Polykrates'  banquets?  Well,  I  think 
I  may  venture  to  say  of  my  own  poor  self,  that  if  Anakreon 
can  make  better  verses,  I  understand  the  art  of  living  quite 
as  well  as  he,  though  he  writes  so  many  poems  upon  it.  Why, 
in  all  his-  songs  there  is  not  one  word  about  the  pleasures  of 
the  table!  Surely  they  are  as  important  as  love  and  play!  I 
confess  that  the  two  last  are  dear  to  me  also;  still,  I  could 
exist  without  them,  though  in  a  miserable  fashion,  but  without 
food,  where  should  we  be?" 

The  Sybarite  broke  into  a  loud  laugh  at  his  own  joke;  but 
the  Spartan  turned  away  from  the  conversation,  drew  Phryxus 
into  a  corner,  and  quite  abandoning  his  usually  quiet  and 
deliberate  manner,  asked  eagerly  whether  he  had  at  last 
brought  him  the  long-wished-for  answer  from  the  oracle.  The 
serious  features  of  the  Delphian  relaxed,  and  thrusting  his 
hand  into  the  folds  of  his  Chiton,*  he  drew  out  a  little  roll  of 
parchment-like  sheepskin,  on  which  a  few  lines  were  written. 

Tlje  hands  of  the  brave,  strong  Spartan  trembled  as  he  seized 
the  roll,  and  his  fixed  gaze  on  its  characters  was  as-  if  it  would 
pierce  the  skin  on  which  they  were  inscribed. 

Then,  recollecting  himself,  he  shook  his  head  sadly  and  said: 
"We  Spartans  have  to  learn  other  arts  than  reading  and  writ- 
ing; if  thou  canst,  read  me  what  Pythia  says." 

The  Delphian  glanced  over  the  writing  and  replied:  "Re- 
joice! Loxiasf  promises-  thee  a  happy  return  home;  hearken 
to  the  prediction  of  the  priestess." 


"If  once  the  warrior  hosts  from  the  snow-topped  mountains  descend- 
ing 

Come  to  the  fields  of  the  stream  watering  richly  the  plain, 

Then  shall  the  lingering  boat  to  the  beckoning  meadows  convey 
thee 

Which  to  the  wandering  foot  peace  and  a  home  will  afford. 

When  these  warriors  come,  from  the  snow-topped  mountains  de- 
scending 

Then  will  the  powerful  Five  grant  thee  what  long  they  refused." 


*An  undergarment  resembling  a  shirt. 

fA  name  given  to  Apollo  on  account  of  the  dark  and  incompre- 
hensible answers  of  his  oracle. 


22  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

To  these  words  the  Spartan  listened  with  intense  eagerness; 
he  had  them  read  over  to  him  twice,  then  repeated  them  from 
memory,  thanked  Phryxus,  and  placed  the  roll  within  the  folds 
of  his  garment. 

The  Delphian  then  took  part  in  the  general  conversation  but 
Aristomachus  repeated  the  words  of  the  oracle  unceasingly  to 
himself  in  a  low  voice,  endeavoring  to  impress  them  on  his 
memory,  and  to  interpret  their  obscure  import. 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  doors  of  the  supper-room  now  flew  open.  Two  lovely, 
fair-haired  boys,  holding  myrtle-wreaths,  stood  on  each  side 
of  the  entrance,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  room  was  a  large, 
low,  brilliantly  polished  table,  surrounded  by  inviting  purple 
cushions.* 

Rich  nos-egays  adorned  this  table,  and  on  it  were  placed  large 
joints  of  roast  meat,  glasses  and  dishes  of  various  shapes  filled 
with  dates,  figs,  pomegranates,  melons  and  grapes,  little  silver 
beehives  containing  honey,  and  plates  of  embossed  copper,  on 
which  lay  delicate  cheese  from  the  island  of  Trinakria.  In  the 
midst  was  a  silver  table-ornament,  something  similar  to  an 
altar,  from  which  arose  fragrant  clouds  of  incense. 

At  the  extreme  end  of  the  table  stood  the  glittering  silver 
cup  in  which  the  wine  was  to  be  mixed.f  This  was  of  beauti- 

*It  was  most  probably  usual  to  each  guest  to  have  his  own  little 
table;  but  we  read  even  in  Homer  of  large  tables  on  which  the  meals 
were  served  up.  "Iliad,"  ix,  206,  215.  "Odyss.,"  i,  111.  In  the  Sym- 
posium described  by  Xenophanes  at  about  the  date  of  our  history 
a  table  is  mentioned,  the  appointments  of  which  we  have  more  espe- 
cially followed  in  the  following  description  Xenoph.  "Fragm.  ed." 
Bergk.,  i.  In  the  time  of  Homer  people  sat  at  table,  but  the  recumbent 
position  became  universal  in  later  times. 

tThe  Greeks  were  not  accustomed  to  drink  unmingled  wine.  Zaleu- 
ku£  forbade  to  all  citizens  the  pure  juice  of  the  grape  under  penalty 
of  death,  and  Solon  under  very  severe  penalties,  unless  required  as 
medicine.  The  usual  mixture  was  composed  of  three-fifths  water  to 
two-fifths  wine.  "Schol.  z.  d.  Rittern  des  Aristophanes,"  v.,  1184. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  23 

ful  Aeginetan  workmanship,  its  crooked  handles  representing 
two  giants,  who  appeared  ready  to  sink  under  the  weight  of 
the  bowl  which  they  sustained.  Like  the  altar,  it  was  en- 
wreathed  with  flowers,  and  a  garland  of  roses  or  myrtle  had 
been  twined  around  the  goblet  of  each  guest.* 

The  entire  floor  was  strewed  with  rose  leaves,f  and  the  room 
lighted  by  many  lamps  which  were  hung  against  the  smooth, 
white,  stucco  walls. 

No  sooner  were  the  guests  reclining  on  their  cushions  than 
the  fair-haired  boys  reappeared,  wound  garlands  of  ivy  and 
myrtle  around  the  heads  and  shoulders  of  the  revelers,  and 
washed  their  feet  in  silver  basins4  The  Sybarite,  though 
already  scented  with  all  the  perfumes  of  Arabia,  would  not 
rest  until  he  was  completely  enveloped  in  roses  and  myrtle, 
and  continued  to  occupy  the  two  boys  even  after  the  carver 
had  removed  the  first  joints  from  the  table  in  order  to  cut 
them  up,  but  as  soon  as  the  first  course,  thunny-fish  with  mus- 
tard sauce, §  had  been  served,  he  forgot  all  subordinate  matters- 
and  became  absorbed  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  delicious  viands. 

Rhodopis,  seated  on  a  chair  at  the  head  of  the  table  near  the 


*The  Greeks,  as  well  as  the  Egyptians,  used  drinking  cups  of  vari- 
ous shapes,  and  the  most  different  materials.  The  graceful  forms  of 
the  Greek  drinking  vessels  are  well  known,  but  even  the  Egyptians 
knew  how  to  manufacture  beautiful  goblets.  They  were  made  of  the 
precious  metals,  of  bronze  (such,  according  to  Herodotus,  were  the 
drinking  vessels  of  the  priests),  of  delicate  clay  partially  glazed  (in 
the  Berlin  museum  with  blue  glaze),  and  also,  but  probably  only 
seldom,  of  glass.  Many  were  enameled  in  colors,  and  made  in  the 
form  of  opening  flowers,  others  represented  the  heads  of  animals  or 
birds,  from  the  throats  of  which  the  wine  was  drunk;  others  again 
were  like  our  cups  with  handles.  "Wilkinson,"  ii,  pp.  348-355.  Rosel- 
lini,  "Mon.  Civ.,"  T.  liii-lxii.  "Ebers*  Aegypten  u.  d.  B.  Moses,"  p. 
328.  Originals  are  to  be  found  in  the  museums  of  Berlin,  London, 
Paris,  Leyden,  Turin,  etc. 

tThe  dining-hall  of  Cleopatra  is  said  to  have  been  strewn  ell  deep 
with  roses.  "Athenaeus,  Deipnos,"  iv,  148,  ed.  Meincke. 

tThe  Greeks  always  wore  garlands  at  meals,  and  the  feet  of  the 
guests  were  washed  beforehand  by  slaves.  Plato,  "Symposium,"  p. 
213.  Water  was  also  poured  over  the  hands  before  eating.  "Athen," 
ii,  60. 

§This  dish  is  mentioned  by  Hipponax  about  the  date  of  our  narra- 
tive. "Hipponact.  fragm.,"  34,  ed.  Bergk.  ' 


•*  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

wine-bowl,  not  only  led  the  conversation,  but  gave  directions 
to  the  slaves  in  waiting.* 

She  gazed  on  her  cheerful  guests  with  a  kind  of  pride,  and 
seemed  to  be  devoting  her  attention  to  each  exclusively,  now 
asking  the  Delphian  how  he  had  succeeded  in  his  mission, 
then  the  Sybarite  whether  he  was  content  with  the  perform- 
ances of  her  cook,  and  then  listening  eagerly  to  Ibykus,  as  he 
told  how  the  Athenian,  Phrynichus,  had  introduced  the  relig- 
ious dramas  of  Thespis  of  Ikaria  into  common  life,  and  was 
now  representing  entire  histories  from  the  past  by  means  of 
choruses,  recitative  and  answer.f 

Then  she  turned  to  the  Spartan,  remarking,  that  to  him  alone 
of  all  her  guests,  instead  of  an  apology  for  the  simplicity  of  the 
meal,  she  felt  she  owed  one  for  its  luxury.  The  next  time  he 
came  her  slave  Knakias,  who,  as  an  escaped  Helot,$  boasted 
that  he  could  cook  a  delicious  blood-soup  (here  the  Sybarite 
shuddered),  should  prepare  him  a  true  Lacedaemonian  repast. 

When  the  guests  had  eaten  sufficiently,  they  again  washed 
their  hands;  the  plates  and  dishes  were  removed,  the  floor 
cleansed,  and  wine  and  water  poured  into  the  bowl.  At  last,§ 
when  Rhodopis  had  convinced  herself  that  the  right  moment 
had  come,  she  turned  to  Phanes,  who  was  engaged  in  a  dis- 
cussion with  the  Milesians,  and  thus  addressed  him: 

"Noble  friend,  we  have  restrained  our  impatience  so  long 
that  it  must  surely  now  be  your  duty  to  tell  us  what  evil  chance 
is  threatening  to  snatch  you  from  Egypt  and  from  our  circle. 
You  may  be  able  to  leave  us  and  this  country  with  a  light 


The  women  took  their  meals  sitting.  Usually  a  Symposiarch,  or 
steward  of  the  banquet,  was  chosen  by  lot;  but  in  this  case  the  office 
belongs  naturally  to  Rhodopis.  The  duty  of  giving  orders  to  the 
other  servants,  some  of  whom  were  brought  by  the  guests,  fell  to  the 
lot  of  one  of  the  house  slaves. 

fAt  the  time  of  our  tale,  the  drama  was  in  its  origin.  Thespis  gave 
a  dramatic  form  to  the  Dionysian  choruses  by  the  introduction  of 
strophe  and  antistrophe,  and  the  adoption  of  masks;  and  Phrynichus 
must  be  named  as  the  first  tragic  poet. 

JThe  Spartan  slaves,  who  often  tried  to  escape  from  the  service  of 
their  masters,  a  service  generally  described  in  too  dark  terms. 

§The  Symposium  began  after  the  real  meal.  Not  till  that  was  over 
did  the  guests  usually  adorn  themselves  with  wreaths,  wash  their 
hands  with  Smegma  or  Smema  (a  kind  of  soap)  and  begin  to  drink. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  25 

heart,  for  the  gods  are  wont  to  bless  you  lonians  with  that 
precious  gift  from  your  very  birth,  but  we  shall  remember  you 
long  and  sadly.  I  know  of  no  worse  loss  than  that  of  a  friend 
tried  through  years;  indeed,  some  of  us  have  lived  too  long 
on  the  Nile  not  to  have  imbibed  a  little  of  the  constant,  un- 
changing Egyptian  temperament.  You  smile,  and  yet  I  feel 
sure  that  long  as  you  have  desired  to  revisit  your  dear  Hellas, 
you  will  not  be  able  to  leave  us  quite  without  regret.  Ah,  you 
admit  this?  Well,  I  knew  I  had  not  been  deceived.  But  now 
tell  us  why  you  are  obliged  to  leave  Egypt,  that  we  may  con- 
sider whether  it  may  not  be  possible  to  get  the  king's  decree 
reversed,  and  so  keep  you  with  us." 

Phanes  smiled  bitterly,  and  replied:  "Many  thanks,  Rhodo- 
pis,  for  these  flattering  words,  and  for  the  kind  intention 
either  to  grieve  over  my  departure,  or,  if  possible,  to  prevent 
it.  A  hundred  new  faces  will  soon  help  you  to  forget  mine, 
for  long  as  you  have  lived  on  the  Nile,  you  are  still  a  Greek 
from  the  crown  of  the  head  to  the  sole  of  the  foot,  and  may 
thank  the  gods  that  you  have  remained  so.  I  am  a  great  friend 
of  constancy,  too,  but  quite  as  grea£  an  enemy  of  folly,  and 
is  there  one  among  you  who  would  not  call  it  folly  to  fret  over 
what  cannot  be  undone?  I  cannot  call  the  Egyptian  con- 
stancy a  virtue,  it  is  a  delusion.  The  men  who  treasure  their 
dead  for  thousands  of  years,  and  would  rather  lose  their  last 
loaf  than  allow  a  single  bone  belonging  to  one  of  their  ances- 
tors to  be  taken  from  them,*  are  not  constant,  they  are  foolish. 
Can  it  possibly  make  me  happy  to  see  my  friends  sad?  Cer- 
tainly not!  You  must  not  imitate  the  Egyptians,  who,  when 
they  lose  a  friend,  spend  months  in  daily  repeated  lamentations 
over  him.  On  the  contrary,  if  you  will  sometimes  think  of  the 
distant,  I  ought  to  say,  of  the  departed,  friend  (for  as  long  as 
I  live  I  shall  never  be  permitted  to  tread  Egyptian  ground 
again),  let  it  be  with  smiling  faces ;  do  not  cry,  'Ah !  why  was 
Phanes  forced  to  leave  us?'  but  rather,  'Let  us-  be  merry,  as 
Phanes  used  to  be  when  he  made  one  of  our  circle!'  In  this 


*An  Egyptian,  even  when  deeply  involved  in  debt,  was  permitted 
to  remove  the  mummies  of  his  ancestors.  He  would  give  all  he  had 
rather  than  allow  these  to  fall  into  decay,  as  in  case  of  such  neglect 
he  was  exposed  to  shame  and  ignominy  during  life,  and  his  body 
denied  burial  at  death.  "Diodor.,"  i,  93. 


26  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

way  you  must  celebrate  my  departure,  as  Simonides  enjoined 
when  he  sang: 

"  'If  we  would  only  be  more  truly  wise, 
We  should  not  waste  on  death  our  tears  and  sighs, 
Nor  stand  and  mourn  o'er  cold  and  lifeless  clay 
More  than  one  day. 

"  'For  Death,  alas!  we  have  no  lack  of  time; 
But  Life  is  gone,  when  scarcely  at  its  prime, 
And  is  e'en,  when  not  overfill'd  with  care 
But  short  and  bare!'* 

"If  we  are  not  to  weep  for  the  dead;  how  much  less  ought 
we  to  grieve  for  absent  friends!  The  former  have  left  us  for- 
ever, but  to  the  latter  we  say  at  parting,  'Farewell,  until  we 
meet  again.' " 

Here  the  Sybarite,  who  had  been  gradually  becoming  more 
and  more  impatient,  could  not  keep  silent  any  longer,  and 
called  out  in  the  most  woe-begone  tone:  "Will  you  never  begin 
your  story,  you  malicious  fellow?  I  cannot  drink  a  single 
drop,  until  you  leave  off  talking  about  death.  I  feel  cold 
already,  and  I  am  always  ill,  if  I  only  think  of,  nay,  if  I  only 
hear  the  subject  mentioned,  that  this  life  cannot  last  forever." 
The  whole  company  burst  into  a  laugh,  and  Phanes  began  to 
tell  his-  story: 

"You  know  that  at  Sais  I  always  live  in  the  new  palace ;  but 
at  Memphis,  as  commander  of  the  Greek  bodyguard  which 
must  accompany  the  king  everywhere,  a  lodging  was  assigned 
me  in  the  left  wing  of  the  old  palace.f 

"Translation  from  Simonides,  "fragm.,"  ed.  Bergk. 

tMemphis  is  said  to  have  been  founded  b^  Menes,  whom  most  of 
the  ancient  chronologists,  following  Manetho,  call  the  first  king  of 
Egypt.  He  protected  the  place  from  inundations  by  constructing 
canals  on  a  large  scale.  "Herod.,"  ii,  99.  Bunsen,  "Aegypt.  Stelle," 
i,  d.  Weltgeschichte,"  ii,  s.  40.  According  to  Lepsius,  who  has  ex- 
amined every  existing  date  and  inscription  most  critically,  he  reigned 
3892  B.  C.  His  son  and  successor  is  said  to  have  built  the  palace  of 
Memphis,  according  to  Manetho,  a  priest  of  Heliopolis,  who  in  the 
year  250  B.  C.  translated  the  Egyptian  sacred  writings  into  Greek 
for  the  Ptolemaic  Pharaohs.  A  few  scanty  remains  near  the  villages 
Bedreschein  and  Mitrahenny — some  large  heaps  of  rubbish — the  pros- 
trate colossal  statue  of  Rameses  II,  discovered  by  Cavaglia  and  Sloane, 
mentioned  by  classical  writers,  and  now  the  property  of  the  English 
— fragments  of  columns  and  statues,  traces  of  the  walls  of  the  Ptah- 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  2V 

"Since  Psamtik  I,*  Sais  has  always  been  the  royal  residence, 
and  the  other  palaces  have  in  consequence  become  somewhat 
neglected.  My  dwelling  was  really  splendidly  situated,  and 
beautifully  furnished;  it  would  have  been  first-rate,  if,  from 
the  first  moment  of  my  entjance,  a  fearful  annoyance  had  not 
made  its  appearance. 

"In  the  daytime,  when  I  was  seldom  at  home,  my  rooms 
were  all  that  could  be  wished,  but  at  night  it  was  impossible  to 
sleep  for  the  tremendous  noise  made  by  thousands  of  rats  and 
mice  under  the  old  floors,  and  couches,  and  behind  the  hang- 
ings . 

"Even  in  the  first  night  an  impudent  mousre  ran  over  my 
face. 

"I  was  quite  at  a  loss  what  to  do,  till  an  Egyptian  soldier  sold 
me  two  large  cats,  and  these,  in  the  course  of  many  weeks, 
procured  me  some  rest  from  my  tormentors. 

"Now,  you  are  probably  all  aware  that  one  of  the  charming 
laws  of  the  most  eccentric  nation  (whose  culture  and  wisdom, 
you,  my  Milesian  friends,  cannot  sufficiently  praise),  declares 
the  cat  to  be  a  sacred  animal.  Divine  honors  are  paid  to  these 
fortunate  quadrupeds  as  well  as  to  many  other  animals,  and 
he  who  kills  a  cat  is  punished  with  the  same  severity  as  the 
murderer  of  a  human  being." 

Till  now  Rhodopis  had  been  smiling,  but  when  she  perceived 
that  Phanes'  banishment  had  to  do  with  his  contempt  for  the 
sacred  animals,  her  face  became  more  serious.  She  knew  how 
many  victims,  how  many  human  lives,  had  already  been  sacri- 
ficed to  this  Egyptian  superstition,  and  how,  only  a  short  time 
before,  the  king  Amasis  himself  had  endeavored  in  vain 'to 
rescue  an  unfortunate  Samian,  who  had  killed  a  cat,  from  the 
vengeance  of  the  enraged  populace.t 

temple,  broken  sherds,  and  smaller  memorials  in  larger  numbers,  are 
all  that  now  remain  of  this  once  gigantic  city.  The  city  of  the  dead 
at  Memphis  is  in  better  preservation.  The  Pyramids  stand  on  un- 
moved, and  the  Serapeium  and  the  Apis  tombs  have  been  excavated 
by  Mariette  Bey,  a  Frenchman  in  the  service  of  the  Viceroy. 

*Psamtik  I,  better  known  by  his  Greek  name  Psametich  (or  Psam- 
metichus)  belonged  to  the  twenty-sixth,  or  the  Saitic  dynasty.  He 
was  the  first  to  open  a  communication  between  Egypt- and  foreign 
countries.  On  this  reign  the  inscriptions  from  the  Apis  tombs  render 
such  good  service,  that  we  are  enabled  to  fix  the  date  of  Psamtik's 
accession  to  the  throne  on  February  5,  664  B.  C. 

fThe  cat  was  probably  the  most  sacred  of  all  the  animals  worshiped 


28  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"Everything  was  going  well,"  continued  the  officer,  "when 
we  left  Memphis  two  years  ago. 

"I  confided  my  pair  of  cats-  to  the  care  of  one  of  the  Egyptian 
servants  at  the  palace,  feeling  sure  that  these  enemies  of  the 
rats  would  keep  my  dwelling  clear  "for  the  future;  indeed  I 
began  to  feel  a  certain  veneration  for  my  deliverers  from  the 
plague  of  mice/ 

"Last  year  Amasis  fell  ill  before  the  court  could  adjourn  to 
Memphis,  and  we  remained  at  Sais. 

"At  last,  about  six  weeks  ago,  we  set  out  for  the  city  of  the 
Pyramids.*  I  betook  me  to  my  old  quarters;  not  the  shadow 
of  a  mouse's  tail  was  to  be  seen  there,  but  instead,  they 
swarmed  with  another  race  of  animals  not  one  whit  dearer  to 
me  than  their  predecessors.  The  pair  of  cats  had,  during  my 
two  years'  absence  increased  twelvefold.  I  tried  all  in  my 
power  to  dislodge  this  burdensome  brood  of  all  ages  and  colors, 
but  in  vain;  every  night  my  sleep  was  disturbed  by  horrible 
choruses  of  four-footed  animals-,  and  feline  war-cries  and  songs. 

"Every  year,  at  the  period  of  the  Bubastis  festival,  all  super- 
fluous cats  may  be  brought  to  the  temple  of  the  cat-headed  god- 
dess Pacht,  where  they  are  fed  and  cared  for,  or  as  I  believe, 
when  they  multiply  too  fast,  quietly  put  out  of  the  way.  These 
priests  are  knaves! 

"Unfortunately  the  journey  to  the  said  templef  did  not  occur 

by  the  Egyptians.  While  others  were  deified  only  in  particular  dis- 
tricts, the  cat  was  an  object  of  adoration  to  all  the  subjects  of  the 
Pharaohs.  "Herod.,"  (ii,  66),  tells  that  when  a  house  was  on  fire  the 
Egyptians  never  thought  of  extinguishing  the  fire  until  their  cats 
were  all  saved,  and  that  when  a  cat  died  they  shaved  their  heads  in 
sign  of  mourning.  Whoever  killed  one  of  these  animals,  whether 
intentionally  or  by  accident,  suffered  the  penalty  of  death,  without 
any  chance  of  mercy.  "Diod.,"  (i,  81),  himself  witnessed  the  murder 
of  a  Roman  citizen  who  had  killed  a  cat,  by  the  Egyptian  people;  and 
this  in  spite  of  the  authorities,  who  in  fear  of  the  powerful  Romans, 
endeavored  to  prevent  the  deed.  The  bodies  of  the  cats  were  carefully 
embalmed  and  buried,  and  their  mummies  are  to  be  found  in  every 
museum.  The  embalmed  cat,  carefully  wrapped  in  linen  bandages, 
is  oftener  to  be  met  with  than  any  of  the  many  animals  thus  pre- 
served by  the  Egyptians. 

*The  great  Pyramids  lie  to  the  west  of  Memphis. 

fThe  chief  temple  of  the  goddess  Pacht  (Bast),  who  was  represented 
with  a  head  of  a  cat,  was  at  Bubastis,  in  the  eastern  delta.  The  mum- 
mies of  the  efts  were  usually  brought  thither;  some,  however,  have 
been  discovered  in  other  places,  and  more  especially  at  the  Serapeium, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  2& 

during  the  time  of  our  stay  in  Memphis;  however,  as  I  realh 
could  not  tolerate  this  army  of  tormentors  any  longer,  I  de- 
termined at  least  to  get  rid  of  two  families  of  healthy  kittens 
with  which  their  mothers  had  just  presented  me.  My  old  slave 
Miis,*  from  his  very  name  a  natural  enemy  of  cats,  was  told 
to  kill  the  little  creatures,  put  them  into  a  sack  and  throw  them 
into  the  Nile. 

"This  murder  was  necessary,  as  the  mewing  of  the  kittens 
would  otherwise  have  betrayed  the  contents  of  the  sack  to  the 
palace  warders.  In  the  twilight  poor  Mus  betook  himself  to 
the  Nile  through  the  grove  of  Hathor,f  with  his  perilous 
burden.  But  alas !  the  Egyptian  attendant  who  was  in  the  habit 
of  feeding  my  cats,  had  noticed  that  two  families  of  kittens  were 
missing,  and  had  seen  through  the  whole  plan. 

According  to  Herodotus  she  was  similar  to  the  Greek  Artemis  (Diana) 
and  was  called  Bubastian.  Stephanus  of  Byzantium  says  also  that  the 
cat  was  called  Bubastos  in  Egyptian.  The  general  name  for  the 
animal  was  Mau — Mie.  She  seems  also  to  have  been  honored  as  the 
deity  who  conferred  the  blessing  of  children  and  watched  over  their 
birth.  Representations  of  her  are  to  be  found  in  "Birch's  Gallery," 
p.  16  and  following,  and  "Wilkinson's  Manners  and  Customs,"  vi,  pi. 
27  and' 35.  Since  the  publication  by  Diimichen  of  the  temple  inscrip- 
tions at  Dendera  there  seems  to  be  no  longer  any  doubt  that,  in  the 
Goddess  Bast,  the  Egyptians  worshiped  certain  phases  of  Astarte  (the 
Syrian  Aphrodite,  Venus  urania). 

*Mues,  /zfr,  a  name  not  uncommon  among  the  Greeks,  signifies 
Mouse. 

tThe  goddess  of  love,  or  Egyptian  venus,  who  also  had  a  temple 
at  Memphis.  Her  principal  sanctuary  was  at  Dendera  (Ta-n-ta-rer, 
the  land  of  the  Nile  horse,  of  the  goddess  of  the.  Nile)  where  she  is 
mentioned  by  all  her  titles;  of  these  more  than  three  hundred  are  to 
be  found  at  Edfu.  Throughout  she  appears  as  the  female,  or  recep- 
tive and  productive  principle,  in  opposition  to  the  male,  or  generative; 
and  cosmic,  as  the  earth,  the  exhibition  of  the  Deity  working  in  the 
visible  world  of  nature.  As  the  impersonation  of  fertility,  she  rep- 
resents the  fruitfulness  of  the  fields,  and,  as  this  is  dependent  on  the 
Nile,  so  it  is  Isis  Hathor  who  "causeth  the  Nile  to  increase  in  his 
season."  She  is  the  sublime  goddess  of  love,  the  great  heavenly 
mother,  who  takes  under  her  divine  protection  all  the  mothers  of  the 
earth,  the  giver  of  all  good  things  in  this  life,  the  beautiful-visaged 
one,  who  fills  heaven  and  earth  with  her  benefits.  In  later  times  she 
became  transformed  into  a  muse.  The  dance,  song,  mirth,  even 
material  enjoyments  and  intoxication,  were  under  her  protection,  but 
she  was  principally  revered  as  the  goddess  of  love.  The  cord  and 
tamborine  in  her  hand  denote  the  captivating,  riveting  power  and  the 
pleasure  of  love.  Dendera  was  called  Kantharonpolis,  "the  place  of 


20  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"My  slave  took  his  way  composedly  through  the  great 
avenue  of  Sphinxes,  and  by  the  temple  Ptah,*  holding  the  little 
bag  concealed  under  his  mantle.  Already  in  the  sacred  grove 
he  noticed  that  he  was  being  followed,  but  on  seeing  that  the 
men  behind  him  stopped  before  the  temple  of  Ptah  and  entered 
into  conversation  with  the  priests,  he  felt  perfectly  reassured 
and  went  on. 

"He  had  already  reached  the  bank  of  the  Nile,  when  he  heard 
voices  calling  him  arfd  a  number  of  people  running  toward 
him  in  haste;  at  the  same  moment  a  stone  whistled  close  by 
his  head. 

"Miis-  at  once  perceived  the  danger  which  was  threatening 
him.  Summoning  all  his  strength  he  rushed  down  to  the  Nile, 
flung  the  bag  in,  and  then  with  a  beating  heart,  but  as  he 
imagined  without  the  slightest  evidence  of  guilt,  remained 
standing  on  the  shore.  A  few  moments  "later  he  was  sur- 
rounded by  at  least  a  hundred  priests. 

"Even  the  high-priest  of  Ptah,  my  old  enemy  Ptahotep,  had 
not  disdained  to  follow  the  pursuers  in  person. 

"Many  of  the  latter,  and  among  them  the  perfidious  palace 
servant,  rushed  at  once  into  the  Nile,  and  there,  to  our  con- 
fusion, found  the  bag  with  its  twelve  little  corpses,  hanging 

the  cup,"  after  her  drinking-cup.  She  is  called  the  great  queen  of 
the  golden  wreath  and  the  helper  of  mothers  at  the  birth  of  their 
children.  She  was  the  goddess  most  beloved  by  the  wives  of  the 
kings.  Her  sacred  animal  was  the  cow,  and  she  generally  appears 
in  the  form  of  a  woman  with  a  cow's  head;  the  sun's  disk  rests  be- 
tween her  horns,  which  suggest  the  crescent  moon.  Drawings  in 
"Birch's  Gallery,"  p.  19.  Champollion,  "Pantheon  Egyptien,"  T.  18. 
Rosell,  "Mon.  d.  Culto,"  etc.  The  best  information  on  this  goddess 
is  to  be  had  in  Diimichen's  "Bauurkunde  von  Dendera,"  L.  1865.  Isis 
is  the  most  sensual  form  of  the  Goddess  Hathor — fertility  as  the  idea 
of  the  organic  world. 

*The  temple  of  the  great  Memphian  god,  Ptah,  was  one  of  the  most 
celebrated  buildings  in  Egypt.  King  Menes  is  said  to  have  laid  the 
foundation,  and  many  of  the  succeeding  Pharaohs,  especially  Rameses 
III.  Rampsinit,  known  by  his  treasure-house,  and  Amenemha  III 
were  zealous  in  extending  and  adorning  it.  Psamtik  I  is  said  to  have 
erected  by  its  side  a  splendid  house  for  Apis,  the  sacred  bull  of  Ptah, 
the  roof  of  which  was  supported  by  statues  twelve  ells  high  in  the 
place  of  columns.  Strabo  807.  Amasis,  too,  assisted  in  the  adornment 
of  this  temple,  causing  a  colossus  of  seventy-five  feet  in  height  to  be 
placed  in  its  court.  "Herod.,"  ii,  176.  Remains  of  this  are  to  be  seen 
near  the  Arabian  village  of  Mitrahenny. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  31 

entirely  uninjured  among  the  papyrus  reeds  and  bean  tendrils. 
The  cotton  coffin  was  opened  before  the  eyes  of  the  high-priest, 
a  troop  of  lower  priests,  and  at  least  a  thousand  of  -the  inhabit- 
ants of  Memphis,  who  had  hurried  to  the  spot,  and  when  the 
miserable  contents  were  disclosed,  there  arose  such  fearful 
howls  of  anguish,  and  such  horrible  cries  of  mingled  lamenta- 
tion and  revenge,  that  I  heard  them  even  in  the  palace. 

"The  furious  multitude,  in  their  wild  rage,  fell  on  my  poor 
servant,  threw  him  down,  trampled  on  him  and  would  have 
killed  him,  had  not  the  all-powerful  high-priest — designing  to 
involve  me,  as  the  author  of  the  crime,  in  the  same  ruin — com- 
manded them  to  cease  and  take  the  wretched  malefactor  to 
prison. 

"Half  an  hour  later  I  was  in  prison  too. 

"My  old  Miis  took  all  the  guilt  of  the  crime  on  himself,  until 
at  last,  by  means  of  the  bastinado,  the  high-priest  forced  him 
to  confess  that  I  had  ordered  the  killing  of  the  kittens,  and  that 
he,  as  a  faithful  servant,  had  not  dared  to  disobey. 

"The  supreme  court  of  justice,*  whose  decision  the  king  him- 
self has  no  power  to  reverse,  is  composed  of  priests  from 
Memphis,  Heliopolis  and  Thebes;  you  can,  therefore,  easily 
believe  that  they  had  no  scruple  in  pronouncing  sentence  of 
death  on  poor  Miis  and  my  own  unworthy  Greek  self.  The 
slave  was  pronounced  guilty  of  two  capital  offenses;  first,  of 
the  murder  of  the  sacred  animals,  and,  secondly,  of  a  twelvefold 
pollution  of  the  Nile  through  dead  bodies.  I  was  condemned 
as  originator  of  this  (as  they  termed  it)  four-and-twenty-fold 
crime. f  Miis  was  executed  on  the  same  dsy.  May  the  earth 
rest  lightly  on  him!  I  shall  never  think  of  him  again  as  my 
slave,  but  as-  a  friend  and  benefactor!  My  sentence  of  death 
was  read  aloud  in  the  presence  of  his  dead  body,  and  I  was 


*This  court  of  justice,  which  may  be  compared  with  the  Areopagus 
at  Athens,  and  the  Gerusia  at  Sparta  ("Diod.,"  i,  75),  was  composed 
of  thirty  judges  taken  from  the  priestly  caste  (ten  from  Heliopolis, 
ten  from  Memphis,  ten  from  Thebes).  The  most  eminent  from  among 
their  number  (n-a  rbv  apiarov)  was  chosen  by  them  as  president.  All 
complaints  and  defenses  had  to  be  presented  in  writing,  that  the 
judges  might  in  no  way  be  influenced  by  word  or  gesture.  This 
tribunal  was  independent,  even  of  the  king's  authority. 

fAccording  to  the  Egyptian  law,  the  man  who  was  cognizant  of  a 
crime  was  held  equally  culpable  with  the  perpetrator. 


32  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

already  preparing  for  a  long  journey  into  the  nether  world 
when  the  king  sent  and  commanded  a  reprieve. 

"I  was  taken  hack  to  prison.  One  of  my  guards,  an  Arca- 
dian Taxiarch,*  told  me  that  all  the  officers  of  the  guard  and 
many  of  the  soldiers  (altogether  four  thousand  men)  had 
threatened  to  send  in  their  resignation,  unless  I,  their  com- 
mander, were  pardoned. 

"As  it  was  beginning  to  grow  dusk  I  was  taken  to  the  king. 

"He  received  me  graciously,  confirmed  the  Taxiarch's  state- 
ment with  his  own  mouth,  and  said  how  grieved  he  should  be 
to  lose  a  commander  so  generally  beloved.  I  must  confess 
that  I  owe  Amasis  no  grudge  for  his  conduct  to  me;  on  the 
contrary  I  pity  him.  You  should  have  heard  how  he,  the 
powerful  king,  complained  that  he  could  never  act  according 
to  his  own  wishes,  that  even  in  his  most  private  affairs  he  was 
crossed  and  compromised  by  the  priests  and  their  influence. 
Had  it  only  depended  on  himself  he  could  easily  have  pardoned 
the  transgression  of  law,  which  I,  as  a  foreigner,  could  not  be 
expected  to  understand,  and  might  (though  unjustly)  esteem  as 
a  foolish  superstition.  But  for  the  sake  of  the  priests  he  dare 
not  leave  me  unpunished.  The  lightest  penalty  he  could  in- 
flict must  be  banishment  from  Egypt.f 

"He  concluded  his  complaint  with  these  words:  'You  little 
know  what  concessions  I  must  make  to  the  priests-  in  order 
to  obtain  your  pardon.  Why,  our  supreme  court  of  justice 
is  independent  even  of  me,  its  king!' 

"And  thus  I  received  my  dismissal,  after  having  taken  a 
solemn  oath  to  leave  Memphis  that  very  day,  and  Egypt,  at 
latest,  in  three  weeks. 

"At  the  palace  gate  I  met  Psamtik,  the  crown-prince.  He 
has-  long  been  my  enemy,  on  account  of  some  vexatious  matters 
which  I  cannot  divulge  (you  know  them,  Rhodopis).  I  was 
going  to  offer  him  my  parting  salutation,  but  he  turned  his 
back  upon  me,  saying:  'Once  more  you  have  escaped  punish- 
ment, Athenian ;  but  you  cannot  elude  my  vengeance.  Whith- 
ersoever you  may  go  I  shall  be  able  to  find  you!'  That  re- 

"Commander  of  a  Taxis,  or  captain  of  a  company.  "Lysias.  Apol.," 
p.  162. 

tThe  punishment  of  exile  seems  to  have  been  employed  against  the 
native  Egyptians;  it  could  be  easily  imposed  on  foreigners  whom  it 
was  desirable  to  get  rid  of, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  & 

mains  to  be  proved,'  I  answered,  put  myself  and  my  possessions 
on  board  a  boat,  and  came  to  Naukratis.  Here,  by  good 
fortune,  I  met  my  old  friend  Aristomachus  of  Sparta,  who,  as 
he  was  formerly  in  command  of  the  Cyprian  troops,*  will  most 
likely  be  nominated  my  successor.  I  should  rejoice  to  know 
that  such  a  first-rate  man  was  going  to  take  my  place  if  I  did 
not  at  the  same  time  fear  that  his  eminent  services  will  make 
my  own  poor  efforts  seem  even  more  insignificant  than  they 
really  were." 

But  here  he  was  interrupted  by  Aristomachus,  who  called 
out:  "Praise  enough,  friend  Phanes!  Spartan  tongues  are 
stiff;  but  if  you  should  ever  stand  in  need  of  my  help,  I  will 
give  you  an  answer  in  deeds  which  shall  strike  the  right  nail 
on  the  head." 

Rhodopis  smiled  her  approval,  and  giving  her  hand  to  each, 
said:  "Unfortunately,  the  only  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from 
your  story,  my  poor  Phanes,.  is1  that  you  cannot  possibly  remain 
any  longer  in  this  country.  I  will  not  blame  you  for  your 
thoughtlessness,  though  you  might  have  known  you  were  ex- 
posing yourself  to  great  danger  for  a  mere  trifle.  The  really 
wise  and  brave  man  never  undertakes-  a  hazardous  enterprise 
unless  the  possible  advantage  and  disadvantage  that  may  ac- 
crue to  him  from  it  can  be  reckoned  at  least  as  equal.  Reck- 
lessness is  quite  as  foolish,  but  not  so  blamable  as  cowardice, 
for  though  both  do  the  man  an  injury,  the  latter  alone  can 
dishonor  him. 

"Your  thoughtlessness,  this  time,  has  very  nearly  cost  your 
life,  a  life  dear  to  many,  and  which  you  ought  to  save  for  a 
nobler  end.  We  cannot  attempt  to  keep  you  here;  we  should 
thereby  only  injure  ourselves  without  benefiting  you.  This 
noble  Spartan  must  now  take  your  place  as  head  and  repre- 
sentative of  the  Greek  nation  at  the  Egyptian  court,  must 
endeavor  to  protect  us  against  the  encroachment  of  the  priests, 
and  to  retain  for  us  the  royal  favor.  I  take  your  hand, 
Aristomachus,  and  will  not  let  it  go  until  you  have  promised 
that  you  will  protect,  to  the  utmost  of  your  power,  every 
Greek,  however  humble  (as-  Phanes  did  before  you),  from  the 
insolence  of  the  Egyptians,  and-  will  sooner  resign  your  office 
than  allow  the  smallest  wrong  done  to  a  Hellen  to  go  un- 

*King  Amasis  carried  on  a  successful  war  against  Cyprus.  "Herod.," 
ii,  178.  "Diod.,"  i,  68. 


34  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

punished.  We  are  but  a  few  thousands  among  millions  of 
enemies,  but  through  courage  we  are  great,  and  unity  must 
keep  us  strong.  Hitherto  the  Greeks  in  Egypt  have  lived  like 
brothers;  each  has  been  ready  to  offer  himself  for  the  good 
of  all,  and  all  for  each,  and  it  is-  just  this  unity  that  has  made 
us,  and  must  keep  us  powerful. 

"Oh !  could  we  but  bestow  this  precious  gift  on  our  mother 
country  and  her  colonies;  would  the  tribes  of  our  native  land 
but  forget  their  Dorian,  Ionian  or  Aeolian  descent,  and,  con- 
tenting themselves  with  the  one  name  of  Hellenes,  live  as  the 
children  of  one  family,  as  the  sheep  of  one  flock — then,  indeed, 
we  should  be  strong  against  the  whole  world,  and  Hellas  would 
be  recognized  by  all  nations  as  the  queen  of  the  earth  !"* 

A  fire  glowed  in  the  eyes  of  the  gray-haired  woman  as  she 
uttered  these  words;  and  the  Spartan,  grasping  her  hand  im- 
petuously and  stamping  on  the  floor  with  his  wooden  leg,  cried: 
"By  Zeus,  I  will  not  let  a  hair  of  their  heads  be  hurt;  but,  thou, 
Rhodopis,  thou  art  worthy  to  have  been  born  a  Spartan 
woman." 

"Or  an  Athenian,"  cried  Phanes. 

"An  Ionian,"  said  the  Milesians,  and  the  sculptor:  "A  daugh- 
ter of  the  Samian  Geomori 

"But  I  am  more,  far  more,  than  all  these,"  cried  the  enthusi- 
astic woman.  "I  am  a  Hellen!" 

The  whole  company,  even  to  the  Jew  and  the  Syrian,  were 
carried  away  by  the  intense  feeling  of  the  moment;  the  Sybarite 
alone  remained  unmoved,  and,  with  his  mouth  so  full  as  to 
render  the  words  almost  unintelligible,  said : 

"You  deserve  to  be  a  Sybarite  too,  Rhodopis,  for  your  roast 
beef  is  the  best  I  have  tasted  since  I  left  Italy,  and  your 
Anthylla  winef  relishes  almost  as  well  as  Vesuvian  or  Chian !" 

Everyone  laughed  except  the  Spartan,  who  darted  a  look  of 
indignation  and  contempt  at  the  epicure. 

In  this  moment  a  deep  voice,  hitherto  unknown  to  us,  shouted 

This  longing  desire  for  unity  was  by  no  means  foreign  to  the 
Greeks,  though  we  seldom  hear  it  expressed.  Aristotle,  for  example, 
says,  vii,  7:  "Were  the  Hellens  united  into  one  state,  they  could 
command  all  the  barbarous  nations." 

tAthenaeus  (i,  25)  calls  the  wine  of  Anthylla  the  best  juice  of  the 
grape  in  Egypt.  On  the  monuments  different  kinds  of  red  and  white 
wine  are  mentioned,  for  instance,  the  wine  of  Kakem.  For  particu- 
lars see  Ebers  "Aegypten  u.  d.  Biicher  Mose's,"  p.  322. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  35 

suddenly  through  the  window,  "A  glad  greeting  to  you,  m>» 
friends!" 

"A  glad  greeting,"  echoed  the,  chorus  of  revelers,  question- 
ing and  guessing  who  this  late  arrival  might  prove  to  be. 

They  had  not  long  to  wait,  for  even  before  the  Sybarite  had 
had  time  carefully  to  test  and  swallow  another  mouthful  of 
wine,  the  speaker,  Kallias,  the  son  of  Phaenippus  of  Athens,* 
was  already  standing  by  the  side  of  Rhodopis.  He  was  a  tall, 
thin  man  of  over  sixty,  with  a  head  of  that  oval  form  which 
gives  the  impression  of  refinement  and  intellect.  One  of  the 
richest  among  the  Athenian  exiles,  he  had  twice  bought  the 
possessions  of  Pisistratus  from  the  state,  and  twice  been  obliged 
to  surrender  them,  on  the  tyrant's  return  to  power.  Looking 
round  with  his  clear  keen  eyes  on  this  circle  of  acquaintances, 
he  exchanged  friendly  greetings  with  all,  and  exclaimed: 

"If  you  do  not  set  a  'high  value  on  my  appearance  among  you 
this  evening  I  shall  think  that  gratitude  has  entirely  disappeared 
from  the  earth." 

"We  have  been  expecting  you  a  long  time,"  interrupted  one 
of  the  Milesians.  "You  are  the  first  man  to  bring  us  news  of 
the  Olympic  games!" 

"And  we  could  wish  no  better  bearer  of  such  news  than  the 
victor  of  former  days?"  added  Rhodopis. 

"Take  your  seat,"  cried  Phanes,  impatiently,  "and  come  to 
the  point  with  your  news  at  once,  friend  Kallias." 

"Immediately,  fellow-countryman,"  answered  the  other.  "It 
is  some  time  ago  now  since  I  left  Olympia.  I  embarked  at 
Cenchreae  in  a  fifty-oared  Samian  vessel,  the  best  ship  that  ever 
was  built. 

"It  does  not  surprise  me  that  I  am  the  first  Greek  to  arrive 
in  Naukratis.  We  encountered  terrific  storms  at  sea,  and  could 
not  have  escaped  with  our  lives  if  the  big-bellied  Samian  galley, 
with  her  Ibis  beak  and  fish  tail,f  had  not  been  so  splendidly 
timbered  and  manned. 

*A  distinguished  Athenian,  whom  we  hear  mentioned  at  the  date 
of  our  narrative.  According  to  "Herodotus,"  vi,  122,  he  had  been 
victor  both  in  the  horse  and  chariot  races. 

tThe  celebrated  Samian  ships  of  that  day  are  thus  described  by 
Herodotus;  they  also  often  had  boars'  heads  at  the  prow.  At  least 
this  seems  implied  in  Strabo's  account  that  the  Aeginetans  had  struck 
off  the  boars'  heads  from  the  ships,  they  had  captured.  Herod,  (iii, 
59)  tells  the  same  with  regard  to  the  beaks  of  the  ships. 


36  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"How  far  the  other  homeward-bound  passengers  may  have 
been  driven  out  of  their  course,  I  cannot  tell ;  we  found  shelter 
in  the  harbor  of  Samos,  and  were  able  to  put  to  sea  again  after 
ten  days. 

"We  ran  into  the  mouth  of  the  Nile  this  morning.  I  went 
on  board  my  own  bark  at  once  and  was  so  favored  by  Boreas, 
who,  at  least  at  the  end  of  my  voyage,  seemed  willing  to  prove 
that  he  still  felt  kindly  toward  his  old  Kallias,  that  I  caught 
sight  of  this  most  friendly  of  all  houses  a  few  moments  since. 
I  saw  the  waving  flag,  the  brightly  lighted  windows,  and 
debated  with  myself  whether  to  enter  or  not;  but,  Rhodopis, 
your  fascination  proved  irresistible,  and  besides,-!  was  bursting 
with  all  my  untold  news,  longing  to  share  your  feast,  and  to  tell 
you,  over  the  viands  and  the  wine,  things  that  you  have  not 
even  allowed  yourselves  to  dream  of." 

Kallias  settled  himself  comfortably  on  one  of  the  cushions, 
and  before  beginning  to  tell  his  news,  produced  and  presented 
to  Rhodopis  a  magnificent  gold  bracelet  in  the  form  of  a 
serpent,*  which  he  had  bought  for  a  large  sum  at  Samos,  in  the 
goldsmith's  workshop  of  the  very  Theodorus  who  was  now 
sitting  with  him  at  the  table. 

"This  I  have  brought  for  you/'f  he  said,  turning  to  the 
delighted  Rhodopis,  "but  for  you,  friend  Phanes,  I  have  some- 
thing still  better.  Guess,  who  won  the  four-horse  chariot 
race?" 

"An  Athenian?"  asked  Phanes,  and  his  face  glowed  with 
excitement;  for  the  victory  gained  by  one  citizen  at  the 
Olympic  games  belonged  to  the  whole  people,  and  the  Olympic 
olive  branch  was  the  greatest  honor  and  happiness  that  could 
fall  to  the  lot,  either  of  a  single  Hellen,  or  an  entire  Greek 
tribe. 

"Rightly  guessed,  Ph-anes!"  cried  the  bringer  of  this  joyful 
news.  "The  first  prize  has  been  carried  off  by  an  Athenian; 
and  not  only  so,  your  own  cousin  Cimon,  the  son  of  Kypselos, 

*See  Th.  Hope,  "Costume,"  i,  138.  Egyptian  bracelets  in  the  form 
of  serpents  are  still  extant. 

fin  ancient  days,  if  was  as  usual  as  it  is  now  to  bring  back  little 
presents  for  friends  from  a  journey.  Theocritus  brought  the  wife  of 
his  friend  Nicias  an  ivory  spindle  and  accompanied  the  gift  with 
charming  verses.  For  these  y^e  must  refer  our  readers  to  F.  Rtick- 
ert's  delightful  translation. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  37 

the  brother  of  that  Miltiades,  who,  nine  Olympiads  ago,  earned 
us  the  same  honor,  is  the  man  who  has-  conquered  this  year;* 
and  with  the  same  steeds  that  gained  him  the  prize  at  the  last 
games.  The  fame  of  the  Alkmaeonidae  is,  verily,  darkening 
more  and  more  before  the  Philaidae.f  Are  not  you  proud, 
Phanes?  do  not  you  feel  joy  at  the  glory  of  your  family?" 

In  his  delight  Phanes  had  risen  from  his  seat,  and  seemed 
suddenly  to  have  increased  in  stature  by  a  whole  head. 

With  a  look  of  ineffable  pride  and  consciousness  of  his  own 
position,  he  gave  his  hand  to  the  messenger  of  victory.  The 
latter,  embracing  his  countryman,  continued : 

"Yes,  we  have  a  right  to  feel  proud  and  happy,  Phanes;  you 
especially,  for  no  sooner  had  the  judges  unanimously  awarded 
the  prize  to  Cimon,  than  he  ordered  the  heralds  to  proclaim  the 
tyrant  Pisistratus  as  the  owner  of  the  splendid  team,  and  there- 
fore victor  in  the  race.  Pisistratus  at  once  caused  it  to  be 
announced  that  your  family  was  free  to  return  to  Athens,  and  so 
now,  Phanes,  the  long-wished-for  hour  of  your  return  home 
is  awaiting  you." 

But  at  these  words  Phanes  turned  pale,  his  look  of  conscious 
pride  changed  into  one  of  indignation,  and  he  exclaimed: 

"At  this  I  am  to  rejoice,  foolish  Kallias?  rather  bid  me  weep 
that  a  descendant  of  Ajax  should  be  capable  of  laying  his  well- 
worn  fame  thus  ignominiously  at  a  tyrant's  feet!  No!  I  swear 
by  Athene,  by  Father  Zeus,  and  by  Apollo,  that  I  will  sooner 
starve  in  foreign  lands  than  take  one  step  homeward,  so  long 
as  the  Pisistratidae  hold  my  country  in  bondage.  When  I 
leave  the  service  of  Amasis,  I  should  be  free,  free  as  a  bird  in 
the  air;  but  I  would  rather  be  the  slave  of  a  peasant  in  foreign 
lands,  than  hold  the  highest  office  under  Pisistratus.  The 

*The  second  triumph  won  by  the  steeds  of  Cimon  must  have  taken 
place,  as  Duncker  correctly  remarks  ("Geschichte  des  Alterthums," 
iv,  p.  343),  about  the  year  528.  The  same  horses  won  the  race  for  the 
third  time  at  the  next  Olympic  games,  consequently  four  years  later. 
As  token  of  his  gratitude  Cimon  caused  a  monument  to  be  erected  in 
their  honor  in  "the  hollow  way"  near  Athens.  We  may  here  remind 
our  readers  that  the  Greeks  made  use  of  the  Olympic  games  to  de- 
termine the  date  of  each  year.  They  took  place  every  four  years.  The 
first  was  fixed  776  B.  C.  Each  separate  year  was  named  the  first, 
second,  third  or  fourth  of  such  or  such  an  Olympiad. 

fNext  to  the  Alkmaeonidae,  the  highest  patrician  family  in  Athens. 
They  boasted  of  being  descended  from  Ajax  the  Homeric  hero. 


38  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

sovereign  power  in  Athens  belongs  to  us,  its  nobles;  but 
Cimon  by  laying  his  chaplet  at  the  feet  of  Pisistratus  has 
acknowledged  the  tyrants,  and  branded  himself  as  their  servant. 
He  shall  hear  that  Phanes  cares  little  for  the  tyrant's  clemency. 
I  choose  to  remain  an  exile^till  my  country  is  free,  till  her  nobles 
and  people  govern  themselves,  and  dictate  their  own  laws. 
Phanes  will  never  do  homage  to  the  oppressor,  though  all  the 
Philaidae,  the  Alkmaeonidae,  and  even  the  men  of  your  own 
house,  Kallias,  the  rich  Daduchi,*  should  fall  down  at  his  feet!" 

With  flashing  eyes  he  looked  round  on  the  assembly;  Kallias 
too  scrutinized  the  faces  of  the  guests  with  conscious  pride,  as 
if  he  would  say: 

"See,  friends,  the  kind  of  men  produced  by  my  glorious 
country  !" 

Taking  the  hand  of  Phanes  again,  he  said  to  him: 

"The  tyrants  are  as  hateful  to  me  as  to  you,  my  friend;  but 
I  have  seen,  that,  so  long  as  Pisistratus  lives,  the  tyranny  cannot 
be  overthrown.  His  allies,  Lygdamis  of  Naxos  and  Poly- 
krates  of  Samos,  are  powerful;  but  the  greatest  danger  of  our 
freedom  lies  in  his  own  moderation  and  prudence.  During 
my  recent  stay  in  Greece  I  saw  with  alarm  that  the  mass  of  the 
people  in  Athens  love  their  oppressor  like  a  father.  Notwith- 
standing his  great  power,  he  leaves  the  commonwealth  in  the 
enjoyment  of  Solon's  constitution.  He  adorns  the  city  with  the 
most  magnificent  buildings.  They  say  that  the  new  temple  of 
Zeus,  now  being  built  of  glorious  marble  by  Kallaeschrus,  Anti- 
states  and  Porinus  (who  must  be  known  to  you,  Theodorus), 
will  surpass  every  building  that  has  yet  been  erected  by  the 
Hellens.f  He  understands  how  to  attract  poets  and  artists  of 
all  kinds  to  Athens,  he  has  had  the  poems  of  Homer  put  into 
writing,  and  the  prophecies  of  Musaeus  collected  by  Onoma- 
kritus.  He  lays  out  new  streets  and  arranges  fresh  festivals; 
trade  flourishes  under  his  rule,  and  the  people  find  themselves 
well  off,  in  spite  of  the  many  taxes  laid  upon  them.  But  what  are 
the  people?  a  vulgar  multitude  who,  like  the  gnats,  fly  toward 


*Kallias  was  called  one  of  the  Daduchi  "  dadoiijof  "  because  the 
right  of  carrying  torches  at  the  Eleusinian  mysteries  was  hereditary 
in  his  family.  Xenoph.  "Hell.,"  vi,  3,  2. 

f'Vitruv.,"  7,  "Praef.,"  15,  "Pausan,"  i,  18,  "Dicaearch.,"  fragm. 
ed.  Miiller,  59.  It  is  said  to  have  been  surpassed  only  by  the  temple 
of  Artemis  (Diana)  at  Ephesus. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  39 

everything  brilliant,  and,  so  long  as  the  taper  burns,  will  con- 
tinue to  flutter  round  it,  even  though  they  burn  their  wings 
in  doing  so.  Let  Pisistratus'  torch  burn  out,  Phanes,  and  I'll 
swear  that  the  fickle  crowd  will  flock  around  the  returning 
nobles,  the  new  light,  just  as  they  now  do  around  the  tyrant. 

"Give  me  your  hand  once  more,  you  true  son  of  Ajax;  for 
you,  my  friends,  I  have  still  many  an  interesting  piece  of  news 
untold. 

"The  chariot  race,  as  I  have  just  related,  was  won  by  Cimon 
who  gave  the  olive-branch  to  Pisistratus.  Four  finer  horses 
than  his  I  never  saw.  Arkesilaus  of  Cyrene,  Kleosthenes  of 
Epidamnus,*  Aster  of  Sybaris,  Hekataeus  of  Miletus  and  many 
more  had  also  sent  splendid  teams.  Indeed,  the  games  this 
time  were  more  than  brilliant.  All  Hellas  had  sent  deputies. 
Rhoda  of  the  Ardeates,  in  distant  Iberia,f  the  wealthy  Tartes- 
sus,  Sinope  in  the  far  east  on  the  shores  of  Pontus*,  in  short, 
every  tribe  that  could  boast  of  Hellenic  descent  was  well  repre- 
sented. The  Sybarite  deputies  were  of  a  dazzling  beauty;  the 
Spartans  homely  and  simple,  but  handsome  as  Achilles,  tall  and 
strong  as  Hercules ;  the  Athenians  remarkable  for  their  supple 
limbs  and  graceful  movements,  and  the  men  of  Crotona  were 
led  by  Milo,|  strongest  of  mortal  birth.  The  Samian  and 
Milesian  deputies  vied  in  splendor  and  gorgeousness  of  attire 
with  those  from  Corinth  and  Mitylene:  the  flower  of  the  Greek 
youth  was  assembled  there,  and,  in  the  space  allotted  to  specta- 
tors, were  seated,  not  only  men  of  every  age,  class,  and  nation, 
but  many  virgins,  fair  and  lovely  maidens,  who  had  come  to 
Olympia,  more  especially  from  Sparta,  in  order  to  encourage 
the  men  during  the  games  by  their  acclamations  and  applause.§ 

*Kleosthenes  won  the  chariot  race  three  Olympiads  later  with  his 
four  horses,  Phoenix,  Korax,  Samos  and  Knakias,  and  caused  monu- 
ments to  be  erected  in  their  honor.  "Pausanias,"  iv,  14. 

flberia  (Spain)  Rhoda  is  in  the  modern  province  of  Catalonia — Tar- 
tessus  in  Andalusia. 

{Incredible  feats  of  strength  are  related  of  this  strongest  of  all 
Greeks.  He  conquered  seven  times  at  Olympia,  nine  times  at  Nemea, 
six  times  in  the  Pythian  games  (Delphi),  ten  times  in  the  Isthmian. 
"Diod.,"  xii,  9.  That  he  won  the  wreath  in  the  sixty-second  Olympiad 
we  know  positively.  Krause,  "Olympia,"  p.  327.  He  can,  therefore, 
have  wrestled  in  the  sixty-third,  that  is,  528  B.  C. 

§Meyer,  "Olympische  Spiele."  Schdmann,  "Privatalterthumer  and 
Others."  Married  women  were  forbidden,  under  penalty  of  death, 
to  appear  among  the  spectators. 


40  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

The  market  was  set  up  beyond  the  Alphaeus,  and  there  traders 
from  all  parts  of  the  world  were  to  be  seen;  Greeks,  Cartha- 
ginians, Lydians,  Phrygians,  and  shrewd  Phoenicians  from 
Palestine  settled  weighty  business  transactions,  or  offered  their 
goods  to  the  public  from  tents  and  booths.  But  how  can  I 
possibly  describe  to  you  the  surging  throngs  of  the  populace, 
the  echoing  choruses,  the  smoking  festal  hectacombs,  the  bright 
and  variegated  costumes,  the  sumptuousness  of  the  equipages, 
the  clang  of  the  different  dialects,  and  the  joyful  cries  of  friends 
meeting  again  after  years  of  separation;  or  the  splendid  appear- 
ance of  the  envoys,  the  crowds  of  lookers-on  and  venders  of 
small  wares,  the  brilliant  effect  produced  by  the  masses  of 
spectators  who  filled  to  overflowing  the  space  allotted  to  them, 
the  eager  suspense  during  the  progress  of  the  games,  and  the 
never-ending  shouts  of  joy  when  the  victory  v/as  decided;  the 
solemn  investiture  with  the  olive-branch,  cut  with  a  golden 
knife  by  the  Elean  boy  (whose  parents  must  both  be  living), 
from  the  sacred  tree  in  the  Aids*  planted  so  many  centuries 
ago  by  Hercules  himself;  or,  lastly,  the  prolonged  acclamations 
which,  like  peals  of  thunder,  resounded  in  the  Stadium,  when 
Milo  of  Crotona  appeared,  bearing  on  his  shoulders  the  bronze 
statue  of  himself  cast  by  Dameas,  and  ca'rried  it  through  the 
Stadiumf  into  the  Altis1^:  without  once  tottering.  The  weight 
of  the  metal  would  have  crushed  a  bull  to  the  earth ;  but  borne 
by  Milo  it  seemed  like  a  child  in  the  arms  of  its  Lacedaemonian 
nurse.§ 

"The  highest  honors  (after  Cimo'n's)  were  adjudged  to  a  pair 
of  Spartan  brothers,  Lysander  and  Maro,  the  sons  of  Aristom- 

*Altis  was  the  name  of  the  sacred  grove  of  plane  and  olive  trees, 
which,  inclosed  by  a  wall,  lay  between  the  river  Alphoeus  and  the 
brook  Kladeus.  Pindar  "Olym.,"  viii. 

fThe  scene  of  the  combats. 

f'Pausanias,"  vi,  14.  Euseb.  "Chron.,"  6,  Ol.  72.  An  epigram  by 
Simonides  "Fragm.,"  179.  Bergk.  "Hartung,"  222. 

Fair  statue  this  of  Milo  fair,  who  won 

Seven  times  the  Pisan  prize,  and  quailed  to  none. 

— Translated  by  Sterling. 

Seven  times  would  probably  have  been  better  than  six,  for  though 
only  six  of  Milo's  victories  are  spoken  of  elsewhere,  yet  in  "Anthol. 
Plan.,"  24,  the  word  e£dxt  is  used,  not  tirraxi. 

§The  Spartan  nurses  were  celebrated  and  sought  for  through  the 
whole  of  Greece. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  41 

achus.  "Maro  was  victor  in  the  foot-race,  but  Lysander  pre- 
sented himself,  amid  the  shouts  of  the  spectators,  as  the 
opponent  of  Milo !  Milo,  the  invincible,  victor  at  Pisa,  and  .in 
the  Pythian  and  Isthmian  combats.*  Milo  was  taller  and 
stouter  than  the  Spartan,  who  was  formed  like  Apollo,  and 
seemed  from  his  great  youth  scarcely  to  have  passed  from  under 
the  hands  of  the  school-master. 

"In  their  naked  beauty,  glistening  with  the  golden  oil,  the 
youth  and  the  man  stood  opposite  to  one  another,  like  a  panther 
and  a  lion  preparing  for  the  combat.  Before  the  onset  the 
young  Lysander  raised  his  hands  imploringly  to  the  gods, 
crying:  'For  my  father,  my  honor,  and  the  glory  of  Sparta!' 
The  Crotonian  looked  down  on  the  youth  with  a  smile  of 
superiority,  just  as  an  epicure  looks  at  the  shell  of  the  Lan- 
gustef  he  is  preparing  to  open. 

"And  now  the  wrestling  began.  For  some  time  neither 
could  succeed  in  grasping  the  other.  The  Crotonian  threw 
almost  irresistible  weight  into  his  attempts  to  lay  hold  of  his 
opponent,  but  the  latter  slipped  through  the  iron  grip  like  a 
snake.  This  struggle  to  gain  a  hold  lasted  long,  and  the 
immense  multitude  watched  silently,  breathless  from  excite- 
ment. Not  a  sound  was  to  be  heard  but  the  groans  of  the 
wrestlers  and  the  singing  of  the  nightingales  in  the  groves  of 
the  Altis.  At  last  the  youth  succeeded  by  means  of  the  clever- 
est trick  I  ever  saw  in  clasping  his  opponent  firmly.  For  a 
long  time  Milo  exerted  all  his  strength  to  shake  him  off,  but  in 
vain,  and  the  sand  of  the  Stadium  was  freely  moistened  by 
the  great  drops  of  sweat,  the  result  of  this  Herculean  struggle. 

"More  and  more  intense  waxed  the  excitement  of  the  specta- 
tors, deeper  and  deeper  the  silence,  rarer  the  cries  of  encourage- 
ment and  louder  the  groans  of  the  wrestlers.  At  last  Lysan- 
der's  strength  gave  way.  Immediately  a  thousand  voices  burst 
forth  to  cheer  him  on.  He  roused  himself  and  made  one  last 
superhuman  effort  to  throw  his  adversary,  but  it  was  too  late. 
Milo  had  perceived  the  momentary  weakness.  Taking  ad- 
vantage of  it  he  clasped  the  youth  in  a  deadly  embrace;  a  full 

*The  groups  of  the  wrestlers  were  decided  by  lot  after  their  free 
birth  and  unimpeachability  of  character  had  been  established. 

tThe  Languste  is  the  delicious  clawless  lobster  which  is  found  on 
the  coasts  of  the  Mediterranean  and  the  Red  Sea,  and  sometimes 
even  on  the  French  shores  of  the  Atlantic. 


42  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

black  stream  of  blood  welled  from  Lysander's  beautiful  lips, 
and  he  sank  lifeless  to  the  earth  from  the  wearied  arms  of  the 
giant.  Democedes,*  the  most  celebrated  physician  of  our  day, 
whom  you  Samians  will  have  known  at  the  court  of  Polycrates, 
hastened  to  the  spot,  but  no  skill  could  now  avail  the  happy 
Lysander — he  was  dead. 

"Milo  was  obliged  to  forego  the  victor's  wreath, f  and  the 
fame  of  this  youth  will  long  continue  to  sound  through  the 
whole  of  Greece.  I  myself  would  rather  be  the  dead  Lysander, 
son  of  Aristomachus,  than  the  living  Kallias  growing  old  in 
inaction  away  from  his  country.  Greece,  represented  by  her 
best  and  bravest,  carried  the  youth  to  his  grave,  and  his  statue 
is  to  be  placed  in  the  Altis  by  those  of  Milo  of  Crotona  and 
Praxidamas  of  Aegina4  At  length  the  heralds  proclaimed  the 
sentence  of  the  judges:  'To  Sparta  be  awarded  a  victor's 
wreath  for  the  dead,  for  the  noble  Lysander  hath  been  van- 
quished, not  by  Milo,  but  by  death,  and  he  who  could  go  forth 
unconquered  from  a  two  hours'  struggle  with  the  strongest  of 
all  Greeks  hath  well  deserved  the  olive-branch.' " 

Here  Kallias  stopped  a  moment  in  his  narrative.  During 
his  animated  description  of  these  events,  so  precious  to  every 
Greek  heart,  he  had  forgotten  his  listeners,  and,  gazing  into 
vacancy,. had  seen  only  the  figures  of  the  wrestlers  as  they  rose 
before  his  remembrance.  Now,  on  looking  round,  he  per- 
ceived, to  his  astonishment,  that  the  gray-haired  man  with  the 
wooden  leg,  whom  he  had  already  noticed,  though  without 
recognizing  him,  had  hidden  his  face  in  his  hands  and  was 
weeping.  Rhodopis  was  standing  at  his  right  hand,  Phanes 
at  his  left,  and  the  other  guests  were  gazing  at  the  Spartan,  as 

"This  celebrated  physician  was  born  at  Crotona  in  Lower  Italy,  in 
the  middle  of  the  sixth  century  B.  C.  He  is  said  to  have  left  his 
native  land  in  consequence  of  his  father's  severity,  and  to  have  been 
employed  as  physician,  first  by  the  Pisistratidae  for  the  yearly  sum  of 
three  hundred  and  seventy-five  pounds  sterling,  and  then  by  Poly- 
krates  for  more  than  six  hundred  pounds  sterling.  Still  later  he  was 
forced  to  enter  the  Persian  service,  where  he  preserved  his  reputation 
for  skill,  and  from  which  he  at  last  escaped  by  stratagem.  In  the 
year  510  he  reappeared  in  Crotona  and  married  the  daughter  of  the 
celebrated  athlete,  Milo. 

tBy  the  laws  of  the  games,  the  wrestler  whose  adversary  died  had 
no  right  to  the  prize  of  victory. 

^Victor  in  the  pugilistic  combat,  fifty-ninth  Olympiad. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  43 

if  he  had  been  the  hero  of  Kallias'  tale.  In  a  moment  the  quick 
Athenian  perceived  that  the  aged  man  must  stand  in  some  very 
near  relation  to  one  or  other  of  the  victors  at  Olympia,  but 
when  'he  heard  that  he  was  Aristomachus — the  father  of  that 
glorious  pair  of  brothers,  whose  wondrous  forms  were  con- 
stantly hovering  before  his  eyes  like  visions  sent  down  from  the 
abodes  of  the  gods,  then  he  too  gazed  on  the  sobbing  old  man 
with  mingled  envy  and  admiration,  and  made  no  effort  to 
restrain  the  tears  which  rushed  into  his  own  eyes,  usually  so 
clear  and  keen.  In  those  days  men  wept,  as  well  as  women, 
hoping  to  gain  relief  from  the  balm  of  their  own  tears.  In 
wrath,  in  ecstasy  of  delight,  in  every  deep  inward  anguish,  we 
find  the  mighty  heroes  weeping,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
Spartan  boys  would  submit  to  be  scourged  at  the  altar  of 
Artemis  Orthia,  and  would  bleed  and  even  die  under  the  lash 
without  uttering  a  moan,  in  order  to  obtain  the  praise  of  the 
men. 

For  a  time  everyone  remained  silent,  out  of  respect  to 
the  old  man's  emotion.  But  at  last  the  stillness  was  broken  by 
Joshua  the  Jew,  who  began  thus,  in  broken  Greek: 

"Weep  thy  fill,  O  man  of  Sparta!  I  also  have  known  what 
it  is  to  lose  a  son.  Eleven  }/ears  have  passed  since  I  buried 
him  in  the  land  of  strangers,  by  the  waters  of  Babylon,  where 
my  people  pined  in  captivity.  Had  yet  one  year  been  added 
unto  the  life  of  the  beautiful  child,  he  had  died  in  his  own  land, 
and  been  buried  in  the  sepulchers  of  his  fathers.  But  Cyrus 
the  Persian  (Jehovah  bless  his  prosperity!)  released  us  from 
bondage  one  year  too  late,  and  therefore  do  I  weep  doubly  for 
this  my  son,  in  that  he  is  buried  among  the  enemies  of  my 
people  Israel.  Can  there  be  an  evil  greater  than  to  behold  our 
children,  who  are  unto  us  as  most  precious  treasure,  go  down 
into  the  grave  before  us?  And  thy  child,  may  the  Lord  be 
gracious  unto  me!  but  to  lose  so  excellent  a  son,  and  even  at 
the  moment  when  he  had  thus  played  the  man,  and  won  a  name 
for  himself,  this  is  even  a  grief  beyond  all  others!" 

Then  the  Spartan  took  away  his  hands  from  before  his  face; 
he  was  looking  stern  but  smiled  through  his  tears,  and  an- 
swered: 

"Phoenician,  you  err!  I  weep  not  for  anguish,  but  for  joy, 
and  would  have  gladly  lost  my  other  son,  if  he  could  have  died 
like  my  Lysander." 


44  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

The  Jew,  horrified  at  these,  to  him,  sinful  and  unnatural 
words,  shook  his  head  disapprovingly;  but  the  Greeks  over- 
whelmed the  old  man  with  congratulations,  deeming  him  much 
to  be  envied.  His  great  happiness  made  Aristomachus  look, 
younger  by  many  years,  and  he  cried,  to  Rhodopis:  ''Truly, 
my  friend,  your  house  is  for  me  a  house  of  blessing;  for  this 
is  the  second  gift  that  the  gods  have  allowed  to  fall  to  my  lot, 
since  I  entered  it."  "What  was  the  first?"  asked  Rhodopis. 
"A  propitious  oracle."  "But,"  cried  Phanes,  "you  have  for- 
gotten the  third;  on  this  day  the  gods  have  blessed  you  with 
the  acquaintance  of  Rhodopis.  But,  tell  me,  what  is  this  about 
the  oracle?"  "May  I  repeat  it  to  our  friends?"  asked  the 
Delphian. 

Aristomachus  nodded  assent,  and  Phryxus  read  aloud  a 
second  time  the  answer  of  the  Pythia: 

"If  once  the  warrior  hosts  from  the  snow-topped  mountains  de- 
scending 

Come  to  the  fields  of  the  stream  watering  richly  the  plain, 
Then  shall  the  lingering  boat  to  the  beckoning  meadows  convey 

thee 

Which  to  the  wandering  foot  peace  and  a  home  will  afford, 
When  those  warriors  come  from  the  snow-topped  mountains  de- 
scending 
Then  will  the  powerful  Five  grant  thee  what  lo:ig  they  refused." 

Scarcely  was  the  last  word  out  of  his  mouth,  when  Kallias 
the  Athenian,  springing  up,  cried:    "In  this  house,  too,  you 
shall  receive  from  me  the  fourth  gift  of  the  gods.     Know  that . 
I  have  kept  my  rarest  news  till  last:.    The  Persians  are  coming 
to  Egypt!" 

At  this  everyone,  except  the  Sybarite,  rushed  to  his  feet,  and 
Kallias  found  it  almost  impossible  to  answer  their  numerous 
questions.  "Gently,  gently,  my  friends,"  he  cried  at  last :  "let 
me  tell  my  story  in  order,  or  I  shall  never  finish  it  at  all.  It  is 
not  an  army,  as  Phanes  supposes,  that  is  on  its  way  hither,  but  a 
great  embassy  from  Cambyses  the  present  ruler  of  the  most 
powerful  kingdom  of  Persia.  At  Samos  I  heard  that  they  liad 
already  reached  Miletus,  and  in  a  few  days  they  will  be  here. 
Some  of  the  king's  own  relations  are  among  the  number,  and 
aged  Croesus,  king  of  Lydia,  too;  we  shall  behold  a  marvelous 
splendor  and  magnificence!  Nobody  knows  the  object  of  their 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  45 

ccming,  but  it  is  supposed  that  king  Camoyses  wishes  to  con- 
clude an  alliance  with  Amasis;  indeed  some  say  the  king  solicits 
the  hand  of  Pharaoh's  daughter." 

"An  alliance?"  asked  Phanes,  with  an  incredulous  shrug  of 
the  shoulders.  "Why,  the  Persians  are  rulers  over  half  the 
world  already.  All  the  great  Asiatic  powers  have  submitted  to 
their  s-cepter;  Egypt  and  our  own  mother-country,  Hellas,  are 
the  only  two  that  have  been  spared  by  the  conqueror." 

"You  forget  India  with  its  wealth  of  gold,  and  the  great  mi- 
gratory nations  of  Asia,"  answered  Kallias.  "And  you  forgot, 
moreover,  that  an  empire,  composed  like  Persia  of  some  seventy 
nations  or  tribes  of  different  languages  and  customs,  bears  the 
seeds  of  discord  ever  within  its-elf,  and  must  therefore  gward 
against  the  chance  of  foreign  attack ;  lest,  while  the  bulk  of  the 
army  be  absent,  single  provinces  should  seize  the  opportunity 
and  revolt  from  their  allegiance.  Ask  the  Milesians  how  long 
they  would  remain  quiet  if  they  heard  that  their  oppressors  had 
been  defeated  in  any  battle?" 

Theopompus,  the  Milesian  merchant,  called  out,  laughing  at 
the  same  time:  "If  the  Persians  were  to  be  worsted  in  one  war, 
they  would  at  once  be  involved  in  a  hundred  others,  and  we 
should  not  be  the  last  to  rise  up  against  our  tyrants  in  the  hour 
of  their  weakness!" 

"Whatever  the  intentions  of  the  envoys  may  be,"  continued 
Kallias,  "my  information  remains  unaltered;  they  will  be  here 
at  the  latest  in  three  days." 

"And  so  your  oracle  will  be  fulfilled,  fortunate  Aristoma- 
chus!"  exclaimed  Rhodopis,  "for  see,  the  warrior  hosts  can 
only  be  the  Persians.  When  they  descend  to  the  shores  of  the 
Nile,  then  'the  powerful  Five,'  your  Ephori*  will  change  their 
decision,  and  you,  the  father  of  two  Olympian  victors,  will  be 
recalled  to  your  native  land.  Fill  the  goblet,  again,  Knakias. 

*The  five  Ephori  of  Sparta  were  appointed  to  represent  the  absent 
kings  during  the  Messenian  war.  In  later  days  the  nobles  made  use 
of  the  Ephori  as  a  power,  which,  springing  immediately  from  their 
own  body,  they  could  oppose  to  the  kingly  authority.  Being  the 
highest  magistrates  in  all  judicial  and  educational  matters,  and  in 
everything  relating  to  the  moral  police  of  the  country,  the  Ephori 
soon  found  means  to  assert  their  superiority,  and  on  most  occasions 
over  that  of  the  kings  themselves.  Every  patrician  who  was  past 
the  age  of  thirty  had  the  right  to  become  a  candidate  yearly  for  the 
office.  Aristot.  "Polit.,"  ii,  and  iv,  Laert.  "Diog.,"  i,  68. 


46  AN  EGYPTIAN-  PRINCESS. 

Let  us  devote  this  last  cup  to  the  name  of  the  glorious  Lysan- 
der;  and  then  I  advise  you  to  depart,  for  it  is  long  past  mid- 
night, and  our  pleasure  has  reached  its  highest  point.  The  true 
host  puts  an  end  to  the  banquet  when  his  guests  are  feeling 
at  their  best.  Serene  and  agreeable  recollections  will  soon 
bring  you  hither  again;  whereas  there  would  be  little  joy  in 
returning  to  a  house  where  the  remembrance  of  hours  of 
weakness,  the  result  of  pleasure,  would  mingle  with  your  future 
enjoyment."  In  this  her  guests  agreed,  and  Ibykus  named 
her  a  thorough  disciple  of  Pythagoras,  in  praise  of  the  joyous, 
festive  evening. 

Everyone  prepared  for  departure.  The  Sybarite,  who  had 
been  drinking  deeply  in  order  to  counteract  the  very  inconven- 
ient amount  of  feeling  excited  by  the  conversation,  arose  also, 
assisted  by  his  slaves,  who  had  been  called  for  this  purpose.* 

While  he  was  being  moved  from  his  former  comfortable  po- 
sition, he  stammered  something  about  a  "breach  of  hospitality;" 
but,  when  Rhodopis  was  about  to  give  him  her  hand  at  part- 
ing, the  wine  gained  the  ascendency  and  he  exclaimed:  "By 
Hercules,  Rhodopis,  you  get  rid  of  us  as  if  we  were  troublesome 
creditors.  It  is  not  my  custom  to  leave  a  supper  so  long  as  I 
can  stand,  still  less  to  be  turned  out  of  doors  like  a  miserable 
parasite!" 

"Hear  reason,  you  immoderate  Sybarite,"  began  Rhodopis, 
endeavoring  with  a  smile  to  excuse  her  proceeding.  But  these 
words,  in  Philoinus'  half-intoxicated  mood,  only  increased  his 
irritation;  he  burst  into  a  mocking  laugh,  and  staggering  to- 
ward the  door,  shouted:  "Immoderate  Sybarite,  you  call  me? 
good!  here  you  have  your  answer:  Shameless  slave!  one  can 
still  perceive  the  traces  of  what  you  were  in  your  youth.  Fare- 
well, then,  slave  of  ladmon  and  Xanthus,  freedwoman  of  Char- 
axus!"  He  had  not,  however,  finished  his  sentence  when  Aris- 
tomachus  rushed  upon  him,  stunned  him  with  a  blow  of  his 
fist  and  carried  him  off  like  a  child  down  to  the  boat  in  which 
his  slaves  were  waiting  at  the  garden  gate. 

*The  Greeks  were  usually  accompanied  by  their  slaves  when  they 
went  to  entertainments.  Thus,  for  instance,  according  to  Plato,  Al- 
cibiades  brought  servants  with  him  when  he  attended  the  Symposium 
of  Agathon. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  47 


CHAPTER   III. 


The  guests  were  all  gone.  Their  departing  mirth  and  joy 
had  been  smitten  down  by  the  drunkard's  abusive  words  like 
fresh  young  corn  beneath  a  hailstorm.  Rhodopis  was  left 
standing  alone  in  the  empty,  brightly  decorated  supper-room. 
Knakias  extinguished  the  colored  lamps  on  the  walls,  and  a 
dull,  mysterious  half-light  took  the  place  of  their  brilliant  rays, 
falling  scantily  and  gloomily  on  the  piled-up  plates  and  dishes, 
the  remnants  of  the  meal,  and  the  seats  and  cushions  pushed 
out  of  their  places  by  the  retiring  guests.  A  cold  breeze  came 
through  the  open  door,  for  the  dawn  was  at  hand,  and  just 
before  sunrise  the  air  is  generally  unpleasantly  cool  in  Egypt. 
A  cold  chill  struck  the  limbs  of  the  aged  woman  through  her 
light  garments.  She  stood  gazing  tearlessly  and  fixedly  into 
the  desolate  room,  whose  walls  but  a  few  moments  before  had 
been  echoing  with  joy  and  gladness,  and  it  seemed  to  her  that 
the  deserted  guest  chamber  must  be  like  her  own  heart.  She 
felt  as  if  a  worm  were  gnawing  there  and  the  warm  blood  con- 
gealing into  ice. 

Lost  in  these  thoughts  she  remained  standing  till  at  last  her 
old  female  slave  appeared  to  light  her  to  her  sleeping  apart- 
ment. 

Silently  Rhodopis  allowed  herself  to  be  undress-ed,  and  then 
as-  silently  lifted  the  curtain  which  separated  a  second  sleeping 
apartment  from  her  own.  In  the  middle  of  this  second  room 
stood  a  bedstead  of  maple  wood,  and  there,  on  white  sheets 
spread  over  a  mattress  of  fine  sheep's  wool  and  protected  from 
the  cold  by  bright  blue  coverlets,*  lay  a  graceful,  lovely  girl 
asleep;  this  was  Rhodopis'  granddaughter,  Sappho.  The 
rounded  form  and  delicate  figure  seemed  to  denote  one  already 
in  opening  maidenhood,  but  the  peaceful,  blissful  smile  could 
only  belong  to  a  harmless,  happy  child. 

One  hand  lay  under  her  head  hidden  among  the  thick,  dark- 

*Becker,  "Charikles,"  iii,  67.  "Pollux,"  x,  67.  See  also  the  picture 
of  a  bed  from  a  painting  on  the  wall  of  a  Pompeian  room.  A.  Rich, 
under  "lectulus." 


48  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

brown  hair,  the  other  clasped  unconsciously  a  little  amulet  of 
green  stone*  which  hung  round  her  neck.  Over  her  closed 
eyes  the  long  lashes  trembled  almost  imperceptibly,  and  a  deli- 
cate pink  flush  came  and  went  on  the  cheek  of  the  slumberer. 
The  finely  cut  nostrils  rose  and  fell  with  her  regular  breathing, 
and  she  lay  there  a  picture  of  innocence,  of  peace,  smiling  in 
dreams  and  of  the  slumber  that  the  gods  bestow  on  early  youth 
when  care  has  not  come. 

Softly  and  carefully,  crossing  the  thick  carpetsf  on  tiptoe, 
the  gray-haired  woman  approached,  looked  with  unutterable 
tenderness  into  the  smiling,  childish  face,  and,  kneeling  down 
silently  by  the  side  of  the  bed,  buried  her  face  in  its  soft  cover- 
ings, so  that  the  girl's  hand  just  came  in  contact  with  her  hair. 
Then  she  wept,  and  without  intermission,  as  though  she  hoped 
with  this  flood  of  tears  to  wash  away  not  only  her  recent  hu- 
miliation, but  with  it  all  other  sorrow  from  her  mind. 

At  length  she  rose,  breathed  a  light  kiss  on  the  sleeping  girl's 
forehead,  raised  her  hands  in  prayer  toward  heaven,  and  re- 
turned to  her  own  room,  gently  and  carefully  as  she  had  come. 

At  her  own  bedside  she  found  the  old  slave  woman  still  wait- 
ing for  her. 

"What  do  you  want  so  late,  Melitta?"  said  Rhodopis,  kindly, 
under  her  breath.  "Go  to  bed;  at  your  age  it  is  not  good  to 
remain  up  late,  and  you  know  that  I  do  not  require  you  any 
longer.  Good  night  and  do  not  come  to-morrow  until  I  send 
for  you.  I  shall  not  be  able  to  sleep  much  to-night,  and  shall  be 
thankful  if  the  morning  brings  me  a  short  repose." 

The  woman  hesitated;  it  seemed  that  she  had  something 
on  her  mind  which  she  feared  to  utter. 

"There  is  something  you  want  to  ask  me?"  said  Rhodopis. 

Still  the  old  slave  hesitated. 

"Speak!"  said  Rhodopis,  "speak  at  once,  and  quickly." 

"I  saw  you  weeping,"  said  the  slave-woman,  "you  seem  ill 
or  sad;  let  me  watch  this  night  by  your  bedside.  Will  you  not 

"The  ancient  Greeks  constantly  wore  amulets,  as  protection  against 
evil,  and  to  insure  a  lasting  prosperity.  On  this  see  especially  Arditi: 
"II  fascino  e  1'amuleto;  presso  gli  antichi."  Among  the  ancient 
Egyptians,  however,  we  find  the  most  frequent  use  of  these  charms. 

•(Though  the  carpets  of  Babylon  and  Sardis  were  especially  famous, 
those  of  Egypt  were  praised  even  by  Homer,  who  calls  them 
"Odyss.,"  iv,  124. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  49 

tell  me  what  ails  you?  You  have  often  found  that  to'  tell  a 
sorrow  lightens  the  heart  and  lessens  the  pain.  Then  tell  me 
your  grief  to-day  too ;  it  will  do  you  good,  it  will  bring  back 
peace  to  your  mind." 

"No,"  answered  the  other,  "I  cannot  utter  it."  And  then  she 
continued,  smiling  bitterly:  "I  have  once  more  experienced 
that  no  one,  not  even  a  god,  has  power  to  cancel  the  past  of 
any  human  being,  and  that,  in  this  world,  misfortune  and  dis- 
grace are  one  and  the  same.  Good  night,  leave  me,  Melitta!" 

At  noon  on  the  following  day  the  same  boat,  which,  the 
evening  before,  had  carried  the  Athenian  and  the  Spartan, 
stopped  once  more  before  Rhodopis'  garden. 

The  sun  was  shining  so  brightly,  so  warmly  and  genially 
in  the  dark  blue  Egyptian  sky,  the  air*  was  so  pure  and  light, 
the  beetles  were  humming  so  merrily,  the  boatman  singing  so 
lustily  and  happily,  the  shores  of  the  Nile  bloomed  in  such  gay, 
variegated  beauty,  and  were  so  thickly  peopled,  the  palm-trees, 
sycamores,  bananas  and  acacias  were  so  luxuriant  in  foliage 
and  blossom,  and  over  the  whole  landscape  the  rarest  and  most 
glorious  gifts  seemed  to  have  been  poured  out  with  such  divine 
munificence  that  a  passer-by  must  have  pronounced  it  the  very 
home  of  joy  and  gladness,  a  place  from  which  sadness  and 
sorrow  had  been  forever  banished. 

How  often  we  fancy  in  passing  a  quiet  village  hidden  among 
its  orchards1,  that  this  at  least  must  be  the  abode  of  peace  and 
unambitious  contentment!  But  alas!  when  we  enter  the  cot- 
tages, what  do  we  find?  there,  as  everywhere  else,  distress  and 
need,  passion  and  unsatisfied  longing,  fear  and  remorse,  pain 
and  misery;  and  by  the  side  of  these,  ah!  how  few  joys!  Who 
would  have  imagined  on  coming  to  Egypt,  that  this  luxuriant, 
laughing  sunny  land,  whose  sky  is  always  unclouded,  could 
possibly  produce  and  nourish  men  given  to  bitterness  and 
severity?  that  within  the  charming,  hospitable  house  of  the 
fortunate  Rhodopis,  covered  and  surrounded  as  it  was  with 
sweet  flowers,  a  heart  could  have  been  beating  in  the  deepest 
sadness?  And,  still  more,  who  among  all  the  guests  of  that 
honored,  admired  Thracian  woman,  would  have  believed  that 
this  sad  heart  belonged  to  her?  to  the  gracious,  smiling  matron, 
Rhodopis  herself? 

She  was  sitting  with  Phanes,  in  a  shady  arbor  near  the 
cooling  spray  of  a  fountain.  One  could  see  that  she  had  been 


50  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

weeping  again,  but  her  face  was  beautiful  and  kind  as  ever. 
The  Athenian  was  holding  her  hand  and  trying  to  comfort  her. 

Rhodopis  listened  patiently,  and  smiled  the  while;  at  times 
her  smile  was  bitter,  at  others  it  gave  assent  to  his  words.  At 
last,  however,  she  interrupted  her  well-intentioned  friend  by 
saying: 

"Phanes,  I  thank  you.  Sooner  or  later  this  last  disgrace 
must  be  forgotten  too.  Time  is  clever  in  the  healing  art.  If 
I  were  weak  I  should  leave  Naukratis-  and  live  in  retirement 
for  my  grandchild  alone;  a  whole  world,  believe  me,  lies  slum- 
'bering  in  that  young  creature.  Many  and  many  a  time  I  have 
longed  to  leave  Egypt  and  as  often  have  conquered  the  wish. 
Not  because  I  cannot  live  without  the  homage  of  your  sex; 
of  that  I  have  already  had  more  than  enough  in  my  life,  but 
because  I  feel  that  I,  the  slave-girl  and  the  despised  woman 
once,  am  now  useful,  necessary,  almost  indispensable  indeed, 
to  many  free  and  noble  men.  Accustomed  as  I  am,  to  an 
extended  sphere  of  work,  in  its  nature  resembling  a  man's,  I 
could  not  content  myself  with  living  for  one  being  alone,  how- 
ever dear.  I  should  dry  up  like  a  plant  removed  from  a  rich 
soil  into  the  desert,  and  should  leave  my  grandchild  desolate 
indeed,  three  times  orphaned,  and  alone  in  the  world.  No! 
I  shall  remain  in  Egypt. 

"Now  that  you  are  leaving  I  shall  be  really  indispensable  to 
our  friends  here.  Amasis  is  old;  when  Psamtik  comes  to  the 
throne  we  shall  have  infinitely  greater  difficulties  to  contend 
with  than  heretofore.  I  must  remain  and  fight  on  in  the  fore- 
front of  our  battle  for  the  freedom  and  welfare  of  the  Hellenic 
race.  Let  them  call  my  efforts  unwomanly  if  they  will.  This  is, 
and  shall  be,  the  purpose  of  my  life,  a  purpose  to  which  I  will 
remain  all  the  more  faithful,  because  it  is  one  of  those  to  which 
a  woman  rarely  dares  devote  her  life.  During  this  last  night 
of  tears  I  have  felt  that  much,  very  much  of  that  womanly 
weakness  still  lingers  in  me  which  forms  at  once  the  happiness 
and  misery  of  our  sex.  To  preserve  this  feminine  weakness 
in  my  granddaughter,  united  with  perfect  womanly  delicacy, 
has  been  my  first  duty;  my  second  to  free  myself  entirely  from 
it.  But  a  war  against  one's  own  nature  cannot  be  carried  on 
without  occasional  defeat,  even  if  ultimately  successful.  When 
grief  and  pain  are  gaining  the  upper  hand  and  I  am  well-nigh 
in  despair,  my  only  help  lies  in  remembering  my  friend  Pythag- 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  51 

oras,:|:  that  noblest  among  men,  and  his  words:  'Observe  a 
clue  proportion  in  all  things,  avoid  excessive  joy  as  well  as 
complaining  grief,  and  seek  to  keep  thy  soul  in  tune  and  har- 
mony like  a  well-toned  harp.'  This  Pythagorean  inward  peace, 
this  deep,  untroubled  calm,  I  see  daily  before  me  in  my  Sappho; 
and  struggle  to  attain  it  myself,  though  many  a  stroke  of  fate 
untunes  the  chords  of  my  poor  heart.  I  am  calm  now!  You 
would  hardly  believe  what  power  the  mere  thought  of  that  fi»st 
of  all  thinkers,  that  calm,  deliberate  man,  whose  life  acted  on 
mine  like  sweet,  soft  music,  has  over  me.  You  knew  him,  you 
can  understand  what  I  mean.  Now,  mention  your  wish;  my 
heart  is  as  calmly  quiet  as  the  Nile  waters  which  are  flowing 
by  so  quietly,  and  I  am  ready  to  hear  it,  be  it  good  or  evil." 

"I  am  glad  to  see  you  thus,"  said  the  Athenian.  "If  you  had 
remembered  the  noble  friend  of  wisdom,  as  Pythagoras  was 
wont  to  call  himself,  f  a  little  sooner,  your  smil  would  have 
regained  its  balance  yesterday.  The  master  enjoins  us  to  look 
back  every  evening  on  the  events,  feelings  and  actions  of  the 
day  just  past.  Now  had  you  done  this,  you  would  have  felt  that 
the  unfeigned  admiration  of  all  your  guests,  among  whom  were 
men  of  distinguished  merit,  outweighed  a  thousandfold  the  in- 
^jurious  words  of  a  drunken  libertine;  you  would  have  felt  too 
that  you  were  a  friend  of  the  gods,  for  was  it  not  in  your  house 
that  the  immortals  gave  that  noble  old  man  at  last,  after  his  long 
years  of  misfortune,  the  greatest  joy  that  can  fall  to  the  lot  of 
any  human  being?  and  did  they  not  take  from  you  one  friend 
only  in  order  to  replace  him  in  the  same  moment,  by  another 
and  a  better?  Come,  I  will  hear  no  contradiction.  Now  for 
my  request. 

"You  know  that  sometimes  people  call  me  an  Athenian, 


*There  is  no  question  that  Pythagoras  visited  Egypt  during  the 
reign  of  Amasis,  probably  toward  the  middle  of  the  "sixth  century 
(according  to  our  reckoning,  about  536  B.  C.).  "Herod.,"  ii,  81,  123. 
"Diod.,"  i,  98.  Chaeremon  in  "Porphyrius  de  abstin.,"  iv.  Jambli- 
chus  "vit.  Pythag.,"  35.  Rich  information  about  Pythagoras  is  to  be 
found  in  the  works  of  the  very  learned  scholar  Roeth,  "Geschichte 
unserer  Abendlander,  Philos.,"  vol.  ii,  who  is,  however,  occasionally 
much  too  bold  in  his  conjectures. 

fPythagoras  was  the  first  among  Greek  thinkers  (speculators).  He 
would  not  take  the  name  of  a  wise  man  or  "sage,"  but  called  himself 
"Philosophus,"  or  a  "friend  of  wisdom." 


52  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

sometimes  a  Halikarnassian.*  Now,  as  the  Ionian,  Aeolian 
and  Dorian  mercenaries  have  never  been  on  good  terms  with 
the  Karians,  my  almost  triple  descent  (if  I  may  call  it  so)  has 
proved  very  useful  to  me  as  commander  of  both  of  these 
divisions.  Well  qualified  as  Aristomachus  may  be  for  the  com- 
mand, yet  in  this  one  point  Amasis  will  miss  me;  for  I  found  iti 
an  easier  matter  to  settle  the  differences  among  the  troops  and 
keep  them  at  peace,  while  he,  as  a  Spartan,  will  find  it  very  diffi- 
cult to  keep  right  with  the  Karian  soldiers. 

"This  double  nationality  of  mine  arises  from  the  fact  that  my 
father  married  a  Halikarnassian  wife  out  of  a  noble  Dorian 
family,  and,  at  the  time  of  my  birth,  was  staying  with  her  in 
Halikarnassus,  having  come  thither  in  order  to  cake  possession 
of  her  parental  inheritance.  So,  though  I  was  taken  back  to 
Athens  before  I  was  three  months  old,  I  must  still  be  called  a 
Karian,  as  a  man's  native  land  is  decided  by  his  birthplace. 

"In  Athens,  as  a  young  nobleman,  belonging  to  that  most 
aristocratic  and  ancient  family,  the  Philaidae,  I  was  reared  and 
educated  in  all  the  pride  of  an  Attic  noble.  Pisistratus,  brave 
and  clever,  and  though  of  equal,  yet  by  no  means  of  higher 
birth,  than  ourselves,  for  there  exists  no  family  more  aristo- 
cratic than  my  father's,  gained  possession  of  the  supreme 
authority.  Twice,  the  nobles,  by  uniting  all  their  strength, 
succeeded  in  overthrowng  him,  and  when,  the  third  time, 
assisted  by  Lygdamis  of  Naxos,  the  Argives  and  Eretrians, 
he  attempted  to  return,  we  opposed  him  again.  We  had  en- 
camped by  the  temple  of  Minerva  at  Pallene,  and  were  engaged 
in  sacrificing  to  the  goddess,  early,  before  our  first  meal,  when 
we  were  suddenly  surprised  by  the  clever  tyrant,  who  gained 
an  easy,  bloodless  victory  over  our  unarmed  troops.  As  half 
of  the  entire  army  opposed  to  the  tyrant  was  under  my  com- 


*Halikarnassus,  a  town  on  the  southwest  coast  of  Asia  Minor  now 
called  Bodru,  was  a  Dorian  colony  planted  in  the  Karian  territory. 
Herodotus,  himself  a  Halikarnassian,  calls  Phanes  a  native  of  the 
same  place.  "Herod.,"  i,  63,  64.  We  have  made  him  an  Athenian 
in  order  to  give  our  readers  an  idea  of  an  Attic  noble.  For  this  we 
have  been  blamed  and  perhaps  justly,  by  the  learned  Dutch  Professor 
Peth  in  his  first-rate  critique  on  this  book;  and  in  our  second  edition 
we  should  have  made  a  Halikarnassian  of  Phanes  entirely,  if  it  had 
not  been  so  important  to  our  story  to  represent  an  Ionian  Greek  in 
active  life. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  53 

mand,  I  determined  rather  to  die  than  yield,  fought  with  my 
whole  strength,  implored  the  soldiers  to  remain  steadfast, 
resisted  without  yielding  a  point,  but  fell  at  last  with  a  spear  in 
my  shoulder. 

"The  Pisistratidae  became  lords  of  Athens.*  I  fled  to 
Halikarnassus,  my  second  home,  accompanied  by  my  wife  and 
children.  There  my  name  being  known  through  some  daring 
military  exploits  and  through  my  having  once  conquered  in  the 
Pythian  gamesf  I  was  appointed  to  a  command  in  the  mercen- 
ary troops  of  the  king  of  Egypt;  accompanied  the  expedition  to 
Cyprus,  shared  with  Aristomachus  the  renown  of  having  con- 
quered the  birthplace  of  Aphrodite  for  Amasis,  and  finally 
was  named  commander-in-chief  of  all  the  mercenaries  in 
Egypt 

"Last  summer  my  wife  died;  our  children,  a  boy  of  eleven 
and  a  girl  of  ten  years  old,  remained  with  an  aunt  in  Halikar- 
nassus. But  she,  too,  has  followed  to  the  inexorable  Hades, 
and  so  only  a  few  days  ago  I  sent  for  the  little  ones  here.  They 
cannot,  however,  possibly  reach  Naukratis  in  less  than  three 
weeks,  and  yet  they  will  already  have  set  out  on  their  journey 
before  a  letter  to  countermand  my  first  order  could  reach  them. 

"I  must  leave  Egypt  in  fourteen  days,  and  cannot  therefore 
receive  them  myself. 

"My  own  intentions  are  to  go  to  the  Thracian  Chersonese, 
where  my  uncle,  as  you  know,  has  been  called  to  fill  a  high 
office  among  the  Delonki4  The  children  shall  follow  me 
thither;  my  faithful  old  slave  Korax  will  remain  in  Naukratis 
on  purpose  to  bring  them  to  me. 

"Now  if  you  will  show  me  that  you  are  in  deed  and  truth 
my  friend,  will  you  receive  the  little  ones  and  take  care  of  them 
till  the  next  ship  sails  for  Thrace?  But  above  all,  will  you  care- 
fully conceal  them  from  the  eyes  of  the  crown  prince's  spies? 
You  know  that  Psamtik  hates  me  mortally,  and  he  could  easily 

*"Thucyd.,"  vi,  56,  57. 

fThe  Pythian  games  were  solemnized  every  fourth  year,  near 
Delphi,  in  honor  of  Apollo  the  Python  slayer.  They  fell  in  the  third 
year  of  each  Olympiad. 

f'Herod.,"  vi,  35,  36.  "Laert.  Diog.,"  i,  47.  Miltiades,  having  enter- 
tained in  his  house,  on  their  way  to  Delphi,  the  messengers  sent  by  the 
Dolonki,  a  Thracian  tribe  at  feud  with  their  neighbors,  was  chosen  to 
be  their  prince. 


54  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

revenge  himself  on  the  father  through  the  children.  I  ask  you 
for  this  great  favor;  first,  because  I  know  your  kindness  by 
experience;  and  secondly,  because  your  house  has  been  made 
secure  by  the  king's  letter  of  guaranty,  and  they  will  therefore 
be  safe  here  from  the  inquiries  of  the  police ;  notwithstanding 
that,  by  the  laws  of  this  most  formal  country,  all  strangers, 
children  not  excepted,  must  give  up  their  names  to  the  officer 
of  the  district. 

"You  can  now  judge  of  the  depth  of  my  esteem,  Rhodopis. 
I  am  committing  into  your  hands  all  that  makes  life  precious  to 
me,  for  even  my  native  land  has  ceased  to  be  dear  while  she  sub- 
mits, so  ignominiously  to  her  tyrants.  Will  you  then  restore 
tranquillity  to  an  anxious  father's  heart,  will  you — 

"I  will,  Phanes,  I  will!"  cried  the  aged  woman  in  undisguised 
delight.  "You  are  not  asking  me  for  anything,  you  are  present- 
ing me  with  a  gift.  Oh,  how  I  look  forward  already  to  their  ar- 
rival! And  how  glad  Sappho  will  be  when  the  little  creatures 
come  and  enliven  her  solitude!  But  this  I  can  assure  you, 
Phanes,  I  shall  not  let  my  little  guests  depart  with  the  first 
Thracian  ship.  You  can  surely  afford  to  be  separated  from 
them  one  short  half-year  longer,  and  I  promise  you  they  shall 
receive  the  best  lessons,  and  be  guided  to  all  that  is  good  and 
beautiful." 

"On  that  head  I  have  no  fear,"  answered  Phanes,  with  a 
thankful  smile.  "But  still  you  must  send  off  the  two  little 
plagues  by  the  first  ship;  my  anxiety  as  to  Psamtik's  revenge 
is  only  too  well  grounded.  Take  my  most  heartfelt  thanks  be- 
forehand for  all  the  love  and  kindness  which  you  will  show  to 
my  children.  I  too  hope  and  believe  that  the  merry  little 
creatures  will  be  an  amusement  and  pleasure  to  Sappho  in  her 
lonely  life." 

"And  more,"  interrupted  Rhodopis,  looking  down;  "this 
proof  of  confidence  repays  a  thousandfold  the  disgrace  inflicted 
on  me  last  night  in  a  moment  of  intoxication.  But  here  comes 
Sappho!" 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  55 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Five  days  after  the  evening  we  have  just  described  at  Rho- 
dopis'  house  an  immense  multitude  was  to  be  seen  assembled 
at  the  harbor  of  Sais. 

Egyptians  of  both  sexes  and  of  every  age  and  class  were 
thronging  to  the  water's  edge. 

Soldiers  and  merchants,  whose  various  ranks  in  society  were 
betokened  by  the  length  of  their  white  garments,  bordered  with 
colored  fringes,  were  interspersed  among  the  crowd  of  half- 
naked,  sinewy  men  whose  only  clothing  consisted  of  an  apion, 
the  costume  of  the  lower  classes.  Naked  children  crowded, 
pushed  and  fought  to  get  the  best  places.  Mothers  in  short 
cloaks*  were  holding  their  little  ones  up  to  see  the  sight  which 
by  this  means  they  entirely  lost  themselves,  and  a  troop  of  dogs 
and  cats  were  playing  and  fighting  at  the  feet  of  these  eager 
sight-seers,  who  took  the  greatest  pains  not  to  tread  on,  or  in 
any  way  injure  the  sacred  animals. 

The  police  kept  order  among  this  huge  crowd  with  long 
staves,f  on  the  metal  heads  of  which  the  king's  name  was  in- 
scribed. Their  care  was  especially  needed  to  prevent  any  of 
the.  people  from  being  pushed  into  the  swollen  Nile,  an  arm  of 
which,  in  the  season  of  the  inundations,  washes  the  walls  of 
Sais. 

On  the  broad  flight  of  steps,  which  led  between  two  rows 
of  sphinxes  down  to  the  landing-place  of  the  royal  boats,  was 
a  very  different  kind  of  assembly. 

The  priests  of  the  highest  rank  were  seated  there  on  stone 
benches,  clothed  in  long  white  garments,  white  fillets  bound 
around  their  heads  and  staves  in  their  hands.  Among  them 
the  supreme  judge  was  distinguished  by  a  long,  waving  ostrich 
feather  attached  to  his  head-dress,  longer  and  larger  than  any 

*According  to  various  pictures  on  the  Egyptian  monuments.  The 
mothers  are  from  "Wilkinson,"  iii,  363. 

f'Wilkinson,"  iii,  386.  These  sticks,  in  Mr.  Salt's  collection,  were 
found  at  Thebes  and  are  made  of  cherry-tree  wood.  Egyptians  bear- 
ing staves  are  to  be  seen  on  nearly  all  the  monuments;  and  Egyptian 
staves  are  preserved  in  most  museums. 


56  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

worn  by  the  other  priests,  and  by  a  costly  sapphire  amulet 
which  lay  on  his  breast  suspended  by  a  golden  chain.* 

The  highest  officers  of  the  Egyptian  army  wore  uniforms  of 
gay  colors,f  .and  carried  short  swords  in  their  girdles.  On  the 
right  side  of  the  steps  a  division  of  the  bodyguard  was  sta- 
tioned, armed  with  battle-axes,  daggers,  bows  and  large  shields ; 
on  the  left  were  the  Greek  mercenaries,  armed  in  Ionian  fash- 
ion. Their  new  leader,  our  friend  Aristomachus,  stood  with  a 
few  of  his  own  officers  apart  from  the  Egyptians,  by  the  colossal 
statues  of  Psamtik  I,  which  had  been  erected  on  the  space 
above  the  steps,  their  faces  toward  the  river. 

In  front  of  these  statues,  on  a  silver  chair,  sat  Psamtik,  the 
heir  to  the  throne.  He  wore  a  close-fitting  garment  of  many 
colors,  interwoven  with  gold,J  and  was  surrounded  by  the 
most  distinguished  among  the  king's  courtiers,  chamberlains, 
counselors  and  friends,  all  bearing  staves  with  peacock's  feath- 
ers and  lotus-flowers.§ 

The  multitude  gave  vent  to  their  impatience  by  shouting, 
singing  and  quarreling;  but  the  priests  and  magnates  on  the 
steps  preserved  a  dignified  and  solemn  silence.  Each,  with 
his  steady,  unmoved  gaze,  his  stiffly  curled  false  wig  and 
beard,||  and  his  solemn,  deliberate  manner,  resembled  the  two 
long  statues,  which,  the  one  precisely  similar  to  the  other, 
stood  also  motionless  on  their  respective  places,  gazing  calmly 
into  the  stream. 

*This  amulet  bore  a  representation  of  t-Ma,  the  goddess  of  truth, 
wearing  an  ostrich  feather  on  her  head.  She  is  also  represented 
with  closed  eyes.  See  "Wilkinson,"  ii,  28,  and  vi,  pi.  49.  Aelian 
mentions  this  amulet  as  an  effigy  in  sapphire  stone,  dyafy/a  aafaipov 
AiOov.  Diodorus  speaks  of  it  as  set  with  precious  stones.  The 
entire  priesthood  or  orders  of  the  Pterphorae  wore  the  ostrich- 
feather;  and  many  high  priestly  orders  wore  feathers  on  the  head. 
See  the  edict  of  Kanopus,  line  5  of  the  Greek  text,  and  Clemens  Alex. 
"Strom,  ed.  Polter.,"  p.  767  and  58.  (Vol.  iv.)  "Wilkinson,"  i,  1. 
Ebers,  "Aegypten.,"  i,  p.  343. 

f'Wilkinson,"  iii,  PI.  3.  Rosellini  "Mon.  Stor.,"  i,  79.  "Mon.  Civ.," 
pi.  121. 

JRosellini,  "Mon.  Stor.,"  i,  pi.  81. 

§In  nearly  every  case  where  the  Pharaoh  appears  he  is  accompanied 
by  men  with  such  staves  in  their  hands.  "Fan-bearer"  was  a  usual 
title  among  those  in  office  about  the  court. 

||In  the  Berlin  Museum  a  similar  wig  is  still  to  be  seen,  the  curls 
of  which  are  two  feet  six  inches  long.  This  mode  probably  owed  its 
origin  to  the  religious  ordinance  which  prescribed  shorn  hair. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  57 

At  last,  silken  sails,  checkered  with  purple  and  blue,  ap- 
peared in  sight.* 

The  crowd  shouted  with  delight.  Cries  of  "They  are  com- 
ing! Here  they  are!"  "Take  care,  or  you'll  tread  on  that  kit- 
ten." "Nurse,  hold  the  child  higher  that  she  may  see  something 
of  the  sight."  "You  are  pushing  me  into  the  water,  Sebak!" 
"Have  a  care,  Phoenician,  the  boys  are  throwing  burrs  into  your 
long  beard."  "Now,  now,  you  Greek  fellow,  don't  fancy  that 
all  Egypt  belongs  to  you,  because  Amasis  allows  you  to  live  on 
the  shores  of  the  sacred  river!"  "Shameless  set,  these  Greeks, 
down  with  them!"  shouted  a  priest,  and  the  cry  was  at  once 
echoed  from  many  mouths.  "Down  with  the  eaters  of  swine's 
flesh  and  despisers  of  the  gods!"f 

From  words  they  were  proceeding  to  deeds,  but  the  police 
were  not  to  be  trifled  with,  and  by  a  vigorous  use  of  their 
staves,  the  tumult  was  soon  stilled.  The  large,  gay  sails,  easily 
to  be  distinguished  among  the  brown,  white  and  blue  ones  of 
the  smaller  Nile-boats  which  swarmed  around  them,  came 
nearer  and  nearer  to  the  expectant  throng.  Then  at  last  the 
crown-prince  and  the  dignitaries  arose  from  their  seats.  The 
royal  band  of  trumpeters^  blew  a  shrill  and  piercing  blast  of 
welcome,  and  the  first  of  the  expected  boats  stopped  at  the  land- 
ing place. 

It  was  a  rather  long,  richly  gilded  vessel,  and  bore  a  silver 
sparrow-hawk  as  figurehead.  In  its  midst  rose  a  golden  can- 

""Wilkinson,"  iii,  p.  211,  pi.  16.  "Ezekiel,"  27,  7.  "Fine  linen  with 
broidered  work  from  Egypt  was  that  which  thou  spreadest  forth  to 
be  thy  sail."  Diimichen,  "Flotte  einer  Aegyptischen  Konigin."  The 
colored  pictures  were  still  more  brilliant.  Rosellini,  "Mon.  Civ.,"  pi. 
107, 108. 

tThe  Egyptians  were,  like  the  Jews,  forbidden  to  eat  swine's  flesh. 
Porphyr.  "De  Abstin.,"  iv.  The  swine  was  considered  as  an  especially 
unclean  animal  pertaining  to  Typhon  (Egyptian,  set)  as  the*  boar  to 
Ares,  and  swineherds  were  an  especially  despised  race.  Animals 
with  bristles  were  only  sacrificed  at  the  feast  of  Osiris.  "Herod.,"  ii, 
i'!.  It  is  probable  that  Moses  borrowed  his  prohibition  of  swine'a 
flesh  from  the  Egyptian  laws  with  regard  to  unclean  animals.  When 
we  read  of  rich  Egyptians  boasting  in  the  possession,  for  example,  of 
fifteen  hundred  swine  (S.  Brugsch,  "Reise  nach  Aegypten,"  p.  223)  this 
must  be  taken  in  connection  with  the  information  from  Herodotus,  no- 
ticed.above. 

f'Trumpeters,"  "Wilkinson,"  i,  290,  pi.  13.  Diimichen,  "Flotte  einer 
Aegyptischen  Konigin,"  taf.  8  and  10. 


58  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

opy  with  a  purple  covering,  beneath  which  cushions  were  con- 
veniently arranged.  On  each  deck  in  the  fore-part  of  the  ship 
sat  twelve  rowers,  their  aprons  attached  by  costly  fastenings.* 

Beneath  the  canopy  lay  six  fine-looking  men  in  glorious  ap- 
parel ;  and  before  the  ship  had  touched  the  shore  the  youngest 
of  these,  a  beautiful  fair-haired  youth,  sprang  onto  the  steps. 

Many  an  Egyptian  girl's  mouth  uttered  a  lengthened  "Ah" 
at  this  glorious  sight,  and  even  the  grave  faces  of  some  of  the 
dignitaries  brightened  into  a  friendly  smile. 

The  name  of  this  much-admired  youth  was  Bartja.f  He 
was  the  son  of  the  late,  and  brother  of  the  reigning  king  of 
Persia,  and  had  been  endowed  by  nature  with  every  gift  that  a 
youth  of  twenty  years  could  desire  for  himself. 

Around  his  tiara  was  wound  a  blue-and-white  turban,  be- 
neath which  hung  fair,  golden  curls  of  beautiful,  abundant  hair; 
his  blue  eyes  sparkled  with  life  and  joy,  kindness  and  high  spir- 
its, almost  with  sauciness;  his  noble  features,  around  which  the 
down  of  a  manly  beard  was  already  visible,  were  worthy  of  a 
Grecian  sculptor's  chisel,  and  his  slender  but  muscular  figure 
told  of  strength  and  activity.  The  splendor  of  his  apparel  was 
proportioned  to  his  personal  beauty.  A  brilliant  star  of  dia- 
monds and  turquoises  glittered  in  the  front  of  his  tiara.  An 
upper  garment  of  rich  white  and  gold  brocade  reached  just 
below  the  knees,  was  fastened  round  the  waist  with  a  girdle  of 
blue  and  white,  the  royal  colors  of  Persia.  In  this  girdle 
gleamed  a  short,  golden  sword,  its  hilt  and  scabbard  thickly 
studded  with  opals  and  sky-blue  turquoises.  The  trousers  were 

*Splendid  Nile-boats  were  possessed,  in  greater  or  less  numbers,  by 
all  men  of  high  rank.  Even  in  the  tomb  of  Ti  at  Sakkara,  which  dates 
from  the  time  of  the  pyramids,  we  meet  with  a  chief  overseer  of  the 
vessels  belonging  to  a  wealthy  Egyptian.  See  note,  p.  57. 

tThis  Bartja  is  better  known  under  the  name  of  Smerdes,  but  on 
what  account  the  Greeks  gave  him  this  name  is  not  clear.  In  the 
cuneiform  inscriptions  of  Bisitun  or  Behistan,  he  is  called  Bartja,  or, 
according  to  Spiegel,  "Altpersische  Inschriften,"  p.  5,  x,  Bardiya.  We 
have  chosen,  for  the  sake  of  easy  pronunciation,  the  former,  which  is 
Rawlinson's  simplified  reading  of  the  name.  Note  of  the  Behistun 
inscription.  "Journ.  of  the  Asiat.  Soc."  The  son  of  Amasis  we  have 
named  Psamtik  after  the  titles  at  Karnak  and  in  the  island  of  Philae; 
the  Greeks  called  him  Psammetichos,  Psamenitos  and  also  Psamme- 
cherites  a  name  in  which  Unger,  "Chronologie  des  Manetho,"  p.  284, 
conjectures  a  metathesis  of  Psemtek  (Psamtik)  Ra, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  59 

of  the  same  rich  material  as  the  robe,  fitting  closely  at  the  ankle, 
and  ending  within  a  pair  of  short  boots  of  light  blue  leather. 

The  long,  wide  sleeves  of  his  robe  displayed  a  pair  of  vigor- 
ous arms,  adorned  with  many  costly  bracelets  of  gold  and  jew- 
els; round  his  slender  neck  and  on  his  broad  chest  lay  a 
golden  chain.* 

Such  was  the  youth  who  first  sprang  on  shore.  He  was 
followed  by  Darius,  the  son  of  Hystaspes,  a  young  Persian  of 
the  blood  royal,  similar  in  person  to  Bartja,  and  scarcely  less 
gorgeously  appareled  than  he.  The  third  to  disembark  was 
an  aged  man  with  snow-white  hair,  in  whose  face  the  gentle 
and  kind  expression  of  childhood  was  united  with  the  intellect 
of  a  man  and  the  experience  of  old  age.  His  dress  consisted 
of  a  long  purple  robe  with  sleeves  and  the  yellow  boots  worn 
by  the  Lydians,f  his  whole  appearance  produced  an  impression 
of  the  greatest  modesty  and  a  total  absence  of  pretension.  Yet 
this  simple  old  man  had  been,  but  a  few  years  before,  the  most 
envied  of  his  race  and  age,  and,  even  in  our  day  at  two  thousand 
years  interval,  his  name  is  used  as  a  synonym  for  the  highest 
point  of  worldly  riches  attainable  by  mankind.  The  old  man  to 
whom  we  are  now  introduced  is  no  other  than  Croesus,  the  de- 
throned king  of  Lydia,  who  was  then  living  at  the  court  of 
Cambyses,  as  his  friend  and  counselor,  and  had  accompanied 
the  young  Bartja  to  Egypt,  in  the  capacity  of  mentor. 

Croesus  was  followed  by  Prexaspes,  the  king's  Ambassa- 
dor, Zopyrus,  the  son  of  Megabyzus,  a  Persian  noble,  the  friend 
of  Bartja  and  Darius,  and,  lastly,  by  his  own  son,  the  slender, 
pale  Gyges,  who,  after  having  become  dumb  in  his  fourth  year 
through  the  fearful  anguish  he  had  suffered  on  his  father's  ac- 
count of  the  taking  of  Sardis,  had  now  recovered  the  power  of 
speech. ij: 

Psamtik  descended  the  steps  to  welcome  the  strangers.    His 

*"Curtius,"  iii,  3.  Xenoph.-"Cyrop.,"  vii,  3,  7.  Book  of  Esther,  i, 
6;  viii;  15.  Aeschylus,  "Persians,"  661.  "Sculptures  of  Persepolis  in 
Niebuhr  and  Others."  The  rest  from  Overbeck's  Pompeian  mosaic 
floor  representing  Darius  conquered  by  Alexander.  Schneider's  opin- 
ion that  this  picture  treats  of  the  battle  of  Clastidium  does  not  seem  to 
me  justified. 

fOn  account  of  these  boots,  which  are  constantly  mentioned,  Croe- 
sus was  named  by  the  oracle  "soft-footed,""Aw5£7ro<5a6/>e,"  "Herod.,"  i,  55. 

f'Herod.,"  i,  85. 


60  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

austere,  sallow  face  endeavored  to  assume  a  smile.  The  high 
officials  in  his  train  bowed  down  nearly  to  the  ground,  allow- 
ing their  arms  to  hang  loosely  at  their  sides.  The  Persians, 
crossing  their  hands  on  their  breasts,  cast  themselves  on  the 
earth  before  the  heir  to  the  Egyptian  throne.  When  the  first 
formalities  were  over  Bartja,  according  to  the  custom  of  his 
native  country,  but  greatly  to  the  astonishment  of  the  popu- 
lace, who  were  totally  unaccustomed  to  such  a  sight,  kissed 
the  sallow  cheek  of  the  Egyptian  prince;  he  then  took  his  way 
to  the  litters  waiting  to  convey  him  and  'his  escort  to  the  dwell- 
ing designed  for  them  by  the  king  in  the  palace  at  Sais. 

A  portion  of  the  crowd  streamed  after  the  strangers,  but  the 
larger  number  remained  at  their  places,  knowing  that  many  a 
new  and  wonderful  sight  yet  awaited  them. 

"Are  you  going  to  run  after  those  dres§ed-up  monkeys  and 
children  of  Typhon,  too?"'*  asked  an  angry  priest  of  his  neigh- 
bor, a  respectable  tailor  of  Sais.  "I  tell  you,  Puhor,  and  the 
high-priest  says  so,  too,  that  these  strangers  can  bring  no  good 
to  the  black  land.  I  am  for  the  good  old  times,  when  no  one 
who  cared  for  his  life  dared  set  foot  on  Eyptian  soil.  Now  our 
streets  are  literally  swarming  with  cheating  Hebrews,f  and, 
above  all,  with  those  insolent  Greeks  whom  may  the  gods  de- 
stroy !  Only  look,  there  is  the  third  boat  full  of  strangers !  And 
do  you  know  what  kind  of  people  these  Persians  are?  The 
high-priest  says  that  in  the  whole  of  their  kingdom,  which  is  as- 
large  as  half  the  world,  there  is  not  a  single  temple  to  the 
gods;  and  that  instead  of  giving  decent  burial  to  the  dead,  they 
leave  them  to  be  torn  in  pieces  by  dogs  and  vultures.^ 

*See  note  p.  89. 

tThe  Jews  were  called  Hebrews  (Apuriu)  by  the  Egyptians,  as 
brought  to  light  by  Chabas.  See  Ebers,  "Aegypten,"  i,  p.  316. 

JThese  statements  are  correct,  as  the  Persians,  at  the  time  of  the 
dynasty  of  Achaemenidae,  had  no  temples,  but  used  fire-altars  and 
exposed  their  dead  to  the  dogs  and  vultures.  An  impure  corpse  was 
not  permitted  to  defile  the  pure  earth  by  its  decay;  nor  might  it  be 
committed  to  the  fire  or  water  for  destruction,  as  their  purity  would 
be  equally  polluted  by  such  an  act.  But  as  it  was  impossible  to  cause 
the  dead  bodies  to  vanish,  Dakhmas  or  burying-places  were  laid  out, 
which  had  to  be  covered  with  pavement  and  cement  not  less  than  four 
inches  thick,  and  surrounded  by  cords  to  denote  that  the  whole  struc- 
ture was  as  it  were  suspended  in  the  air,  and  did  not  come  in  contact 
with  the  pure  earth.  Spiegel,  "Avesta.,"  ii,  "Einleitung.,"  2,  "Cap. 
nach  Anquetil.,"  picture  of  the  Dakhma,  vol.  ii,  tafel.  i. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  61 

The  tailor's  indignation  at  hearing'  this  was  even  greater  than 
his  astonishment,  and  pointing  to  the  landing-steps,  he  cried: 

"It  is  really  too  bad.  See,  there  is  the  sixth  boat  full  of  these 
foreigners !" 

"Yes,  it  is  hard  indeed!"  sighed  the  priest  "One  might  fancy 
a  whole  army  arriving.  Amasis  will  go  on  in  this  manner  until 
the  strangers  drive  him  from  his  throne  and  country,  and  plun- 
der and  make  slaves  of  us  poor  creatures  as  the  evil  Hyksos, 
those  scourges  of  Egypt,*  and  the  black  Ethiopians  did  in  the 
days  of  old." 

"The  seventh  boat!"  shouted  the  tailor. 

"May  my  protectress,  Neith,  the  great  goddess  of  Sais,  de- 

*Foreign  rulers  over  Egypt,  whose  descent  it  is  difficult  to  deter- 
mine, were  called  Hyksos.  We  have  proof  of  their  existence,  not  :>nly 
in  Manetho,  but  from  highly  interesting  monuments,  discovered  prin- 
cipally at  Tanis  in  the  delta.  These,  coming  from  the  hand  of  Egyptian 
artists,  represent  the  features  of  foreign  rulers  devoted  to  the  worship 
of  Set  (Typhon).  A  papyrus  document  ("Sallier,"  i),  has  also  been  pre- 
served, which  tells  of  the  last  days  of  this  foreign  supremacy;  and  a 
description  of  the  storming  of  their  fortress  Abaris  from  sea  and  land 
is  to  be  found  in  the  tomb  of  the  naval  commander,  Ahmes.  Some  of 
the  names  of  these  Hyksos  kings  have  been  preserved  through  the 
Turin  papyrus  of  the  kings,  and  the  Stela  with  the  era  of  the  four 
hundred  years  found  at  Tanis;  a  small  lion  discovered  at  Bagdad  and 
other  monuments,  refer  also  to  the  Hyksos  epoch.  The  last  kings  of 
the  seventeenth  dynasty  (the  lawful  rulers  of  Egypt  had  been  driven 
southward),  entered  on  a  war  with  the  alien  rulers;  and  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  eighteenth  dynasty  we  find  the  whole  kingdom  under  one 
scepter.  We  believe  these,  Hyksos  to  have  been  the  over-powerful 
Phoenician  colony  in  the  north  of  the  delta,  joined  by  Arabians  and 
some  of  the  tribes  from  Palestine.  They  ruled  for  more  than  four 
hundred  years;  and  their  expulsion  may  be  fixed  about  1600  B.  C. 
They  must,  in  no  case,  as  has  often  been  done  since  Fl.  Josephus,  ue 
confounded  with  the  Jews.  For  further  particulars  see  Ebers,  "Aegyp-  ' 
ten  und  die  Biicher  Mose's,"  p.  198  and  following.  We  also  refer  the 
reader  (though  we  do  not  in  all  points  agree  with  his  conclusion)  to 
Chabas'  interesting  work,  "Les  Pasteurs  en  Egypte."  Amsterdam, 
1868.  During  the  last  thousand  years  before  Christ  the  Ethiopians 
prevailed  in  Egypt,  under  three  rulers;  the  last  of  whom,  Taharka 
(Tirhaka),  was  expelled  in  693.  The  priest-king  of  Upper  Egypt,  Pian- 
chi,  who  had  to  encounter  a  severe  resistance  from  the  little  dynasties 
in  the  delta,  was  an  Ethiopian,  see  the  Stela  of  Pianchi.  E.  de  Rouge, 
"Rev.  Archeol.,"  n.  s.  viii,  p.  96.  The  appellation,  "scourges  of  man- 
kind," which  the  Egyptian  here  applies  to  the  Hyksos,  was  in  fact  the 
name  of  detraction  applied  to  these  interlopers;  in  Egyptian  aat-u. 
Chabas  has  explained  this  in  the  "Melanges  Egyptol.,"  i,  263. 


62  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

stroy  me,  if  I  can  understand  the  king,"  complained  the  priest. 
"He  sent  three  barks  to  Naukratis,  that  poisonous  nest  hated 
of  the  gods,  to  fetch  the  servants  and  baggage  of  these  Per- 
sians; but  instead  of  three,  eight  had  to  be  procured,  for  these 
despisers  of  the  gods  and  profaners  of  dead  bodies  have  not 
only  brought  kitchen  utensils,  dogs,  horses,  carriages,  chests, 
baskets,  and  bales,  but  have  dragged  with  them  thousands  of 
miles  a  whole  host  of  servants.  They  tell  me  that  some  of  them 
have  no  other  work  than  twining  of  garlands  and  preparing 
ointments.*  Their  priests,  too,  whom  they  call  Magi,  are  here 
with  them.  I  should  like  to  know  what  they  are  for.  Of  what 
use  is  a  priest  where  there  is  no  temple?" 


The  old  King  Amasis  received  the  Persian  embassy  shortly 
after  their  arrival  with  all  the  amiability  and  kindness  peculiar 
to  him. 

Four  days  later,  after  having  attended  to  the  affairs  of  state, 
a  duty  punctually  fulfilled  by  him  every  morning  without  ex- 
ception, he  went  forth  to  walk  with  Croesus  in  the  royal  gar- 
dens. The  remaining  members  of  the  embassy,  accompanied 
by  the  crown-prince,  were  engaged  in  an  excursion  up  the  Xile 
to  the  city  of  Memphis. 

The  palace  gardens,  of  a  royal  magnificence,  yet  similar  in 
their  arrangement  to  those  of  Rhodopis,  lay  in  the  northwest 
part  of  Sais  near  the  royal  citadel. 

Here,  under  the  shadow  of  a  spreading  plane-tree  and  near 
a  gigantic  basin  of  red  granite,  into  which  an  abundance  or 
clear  water  flowed  perpetually  through  the  jaws  of  black  basalt 
crocodile,  the  two  old  men  seated  themselves. 

The  dethroned  king,  though  in  reality  some  years  the  elder 
of  the  two,  looked  far  fresher  and  more  vigorous  than  the  pow- 
erful monarch  at  his  side.  Amasis  was  tall,  but  his  neck  was 

*"Herod.,"  vii,  83.  Xenoph.  "Cyrop.,"  vii,  10.  "Anab.,"  vi,  4.  In  the 
train  of  Darius  taken  captive  by  Alexander,  there  were  according  to 
Athenaeus,  two  hundred  and  seventy-seven  men-cooks,  twenty-nine 
kitchen-boys,  seventeen  coopers,  seventy  butlers,  forty  preparers  of 
ointments  and  sixty-six  wreathers  of  garlands. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  63 

bent;  his  corpulent  body  was  supported  by  weak  and  slender 
legs;  and  his  face,  though  well  formed,  was  lined  and  furrowed. 
But  a  vigorous  spirit  sparkled  in  the  small,  flashing  eyes,  and 
an  expression  of  raillery,  sly  banter,  and  at  times,  even  of  irony, 
played  around  his  remarkably  full  lips.  The  low,  broad  brow, 
the  larger  and  beautifully  arched  head  bespoke  great  mental 
power,*  and  in  the  changing  color  of  his  eyes  one  seemed  to 
read  that  neither  wit  nor  passion  were  wanting  in  the  man, 
who,  from  his  simple  place  as  soldier  in  the  ranks,  had  worked 
his  way  up  to  the  throne  of  the  Pharaohs.  His  voice  was 
sharp  and  hard,  and  his  movements,  in  comparison  with  the 
deliberation  of  the  other  members  of  the  Egyptian  court,  ap- 
peared almost  morbidly  active. 

The  attitude  and  bearing  of  his  neighbor  Croesus  were 
graceful,  and  in  every  way  worthy  of  a  king.  His  whole  man- 
ner showed  that  he  had  lived  in  frequent  intercourse  with  the 
highest  and  noblest  minds  of  Greece.  Thales,  Anaximander 
and  Anaximenes  of  Miletus,  Bias  of  Priene,t  Solon  of  Athens, 
Pittakus  of  Lesbos,  the  most  celebrated  Hellenic  philosophers, 
had  in  former  and  happier  days  been  guests  at  the  court  of 
Croesus  in  Sardis.  His  full  clear  voice  sounded  like  pure  song 
when  compared  with  the  shrill  tones  of  Amasis. 

"Now  tell  me  openly,"  began  King  Pharaoh  $  in  tolerably 
fluent  Greek,  "what  opinion  hast  thou  formed  of  Egypt?  Thy 
judgment  possesses  for  me  more  worth  than  that  of  any  other 
man,  for  three  reasons;  thou  art  better  acquainted  with  most  of 
the  countries  and  nations  of  this  earth;  the  gods  have  not  only 
allowed  thee  to  ascend  the  ladder  of  fortune  to  its  utmost  sum- 
mit, but  also  to  descend  it;  and  thirdly,  thou  hast  long  been  the 
first  counselor  to  the  mightiest  of  kings.  Would  that  my  king- 
dom might  please  thee  so  well  that  thou  wouldst  remain  here 
and  become  to  me  a  brother.  Verily,  Croesus,  my  friend  hast 

*In  Rosellini,  "Mon.  Stor.,"  pi.  xiii,  53,  is  the  portrait  of  Amasis  as  a 
youth.  The  features  lead  one  to  suppose  that  Herodotus  has  given  the 
characteristics  of  this  prince  correctly. 

fBias,  a  philosopher  of  Ionian  origin,  flourished  about  560  B.  C.  and 
was  especially  celebrated  for  his  wise  maxims  on  morals  and  law. 
After  his  death,  which  took  place  during  his  defense  of  a  friend  in  the 
public  court,  a  temple  was  erected  to  him  by  his  countrymen.  Lae'rt. 
"Diog.,"  i,  88. 

Jin  English  "great  house,"  the  high  gate  or  "sublime  porte."  Egyp- 
tian era.  See  Ebers,  "Aegypten  und  die  Biicher  Mose's,"  i,  p.  263. 


64  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

thou  long  been,  though  my  eyes  beheld  thee  yesterday  for  the 
first  time !" 

"And  thou  mine,"  interrupted  the  Lydian.  "I  admire  the 
courage  with  which  thou  hast  accomplished  that  which  seemed 
right  and  good  in  thine  eyes,  in  spite  of  opposition  near  and 
around  thee.  .  I  am  thankful  for  the  favor  shown  to  the  Hel- 
lenes, my  friends,  and  I  regard  thee  as  related  to  me  by  fortune, 
for  hast  thou  not  also  passed  through  all  the  extremes  of  good 
and  evil  that  life  can  offer?" 

"With  this  difference,"  said  Amasis,  smiling,  "that  we  started 
from  opposite  points;  in  thy  lot  the  good  came  first,  the  evil 
later;  whereas  in  my  own  this  order  has  been  reversed.  In 
saying  this,  however,"  he  added,  "I  am  supposing  that  my  pres- 
ent fortune  is  good  for  me,  and  that  I  enjoy  it." 

"And  I,  in  that  case,"  answered  Croesus,  "must  be  assuming 
that  I  am  unhappy  in  what  men  call  my  present  ill-fortune." 

"How  can  it  possibly  be  otherwise  after  the  loss  of  such 
enormous  possessions?" 

"Does  happiness  consist  then  in  possession?"  asked  Croesus. 
"Is  happiness  itself  a  thing  to  be  possessed?  Nay,  by  no  means! 
It  is  nothing  but  a  feeling,  a  sensation,  which  the  envious  gods 
vouchsafe  more  often  to  the  needy  than  to  the  mighty.  The 
clear  sight  of  the  latter  becomes  dazzled  by  the  glittering  treas- 
ure, and  they  cannot  but  suffer  continual  humiliation;  be- 
cause, conscious  of  possessing  power  to  obtain  much,  they 
wage  an  eager  war  for  all,  and  therein  are  continually  defeated." 

Amasis  sighed,  and  answered:  "I  would  I  could  prove  thee 
in  the  wrong;  but  in  looking  back  on  my  past  life  I  am  fain 
to  confess  that  its  cares  began  with  that  very  hour  which 
brought  me  what  men  call  my  good  fortune."  "And  I," 
interrupted  Croesus,  "can  assure  thee  I  am  thankful  thou 
delayedst  to  come  to  my  help,  inasmuch  as  the  hour  of  my 
overthrow  was  the  beginning  of  true,  unsullied  happiness. 
When  I  beheld  the  first  Persians  scale  the  walls  of  Sardis,  I 
execrated  myself  and  the  gods,  life  appeared  odious  to  me, 
existence  a  curse,.  Fighting  on,  but  in  heart  despairing,  I 
and  my  people  were  forced  to  yield.  A  Persian  raised  his 
sword  to  cleave  my  skull — in  an  instant  my  poor  dumb  son 
had  thrown  himself  between  his  father  and  the  murderer,  and 
for  the  first  time,  after  long  years  of  silence,  I  heard  him  speak. 
Terror  had  loosened  his  tongue;  in  that  dreadful  hour  Gyges 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  65 

learned  once  more  to  speak,  and  I,  who  but  the  moment 
before  had  been  cursing  the  gods,  bowed  down  before  their 
power.  I  had  commanded  a  slave  to  kill  me  the  moment  I 
should  be  taken  prisoner  by  the  Persians,  but  now  I  deprived 
him  of  his  sword.  I  was  a  changed  man,  and  by  degrees 
learned  ever  more  and  more  to  subdue  the  rage  and  indigna- 
tion which  yet  from  time  to  time  would  boil  up  again  within 
my  soul,  rebellious  against  my  fate  and  my  noble  enemies. 
Thou  knowest  that  at  last  I  became  the  friend  of  Cyrus,  and 
that  my  son  grew  up  at  his  court,  a  free  man  at  my  side, 
having  entirely  regained  the  use  of  his  speech.  Everything 
beautiful  and  good  that  I  had  heard,  seen  or  thought  during 
my  long  life  I  treasured  up  now  for  him ;  he  was  my  kingdom, 
my  crown,  my  treasure.  Cyrus'  days  of  care,  his  nights  so  reft 
of  sleep,  reminded  me  with  horror  of  my  former  greatness, 
and  from  day  to  day  it  became  more  evident  to  me  that  happi- 
ness has  nothing  to  do  with  our  outward  circumstances. 
Each  man  possesses  the  hidden  germ  in  his  own  heart.  A 
contented,  patient  mind  rejoicing  much  in  all  that  is  great 
and  beautiful  and  yet  despising  not  the  day  of  small  things; 
bearing  sorrow  without  a  murmur  and  sweetening  it  by  call- 
ing to  remembrance  former  joy;  moderation  in  all  things;  a 
firm  trust  in  the  favor  of  the  gods  and  a  conviction  that,  all 
things  being  subject  to  change,  so  with  us  too  the  worst  must 
pass  ia  due  season;  all  this  helps  to  mature  the  germ  of  happi- 
ness, and  give  us  power  to  smile  where  the  man  undisciplined 
hy  fate  might  yield  to  despair  and  fear." 

Amasis  listened  attentively,  drawing  figures  the  while  in 
the  sand  with  the  golden  flower  on  his  staff.  At  last  he 
spoke: 

"Verily,  Croesus,  I  'the  great  god,'  'the  sun  of  righteous- 
ness,' 'the  son  of  Neith,'  'the  lord  of  warlike  glory,'  as  the 
Egyptians  call  me,*  am  tempted  to  envy  thee,  dethroned 
and  plundered  as  thou  art.  I  have  been  as  happy  as  thou  art 
now.  Once  I  was  known  through  all  Egypt,  though  only  the 

*Amasis  bore  this  title.  Rosellini,  "Monument!  dell'Egitt.,"  ii,  149. 
That  all  the  Pharaohs  had  similar  distinctive  titles  and  were  honored 
as  gods  is  proved  by  thousands  of  hieroglyphic  inscriptions,  also  by 
the  Rosetta  inscription  and  canopus  edict.  The  title  of  Neb  pethi, 
"lord  of  warlike  glory,"  is  frequently  to  be  found  in  the  twenty-sixth 
dynasty. 


66  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

poor  son  of  a  captain,  for  my  light  heart,  happy  temper,  fun 
and  high  spirits*  The  common  soldiers  would  do  anything 
for  me,  my  superior  officers  could  have  found  much  fault,  but 
in  the  mad  Amasis,  as  they  called  me,  all  was  overlooked,  and 
among  my  equals  (the  other  under-officers)  there  could  be  no 
fun  or  merrymaking  unless  I  took  a  share  in  it.  My  pred- 
ecessor, King  Hophra,  sent  us  against  Cyrene.  Seized  with 
thirst  in  the  desert  we  refused  to  go  on,  and  a  suspicion  that 
the  king  intended  to  sacrifice  us  to  the  Greek  mercenaries 
drove  the  army  to  open  mutiny.  In  my  usual  joking  manner 
I  called  out  to  my  friends:  'You  can  never  get  on  without  a 
king,  take  me  for  your  ruler;  a  merrier  you  will  never  find!' 
The  soldiers  caught  the  words.  'Amasis  will  be  our  king,' 
ran  through  the  ranks  from  man  to  man,  and,  in  a  few  hours 
more,  they  came  to  me  with  shouts  and  acclamations  of  'The 
good,  jovial  Amasis  for  our  king!'  One  of  my  boon-com- 
panions set  a  field-marshal's  helmet  on  my  head;  I  made 
the  joke  earnest,  and  we  defeated  Hophra  at  Momemphis. 
The  people  joined  in  the  conspiracy,  I  ascended  the  throne, 
and  men  pronounced  me  fortunate.  Up  to  that  time  I  had 
been  every  Egyptian's  friend,  and  now  I  was  the  enemy  of 
the  best  men  in  the  nation. 

"The  priests  swore  allegiance  to  me  and  accepted  me  as 
a  member  of  their  caste,  but  only  in  the  hope  of  guiding  me  at 
their  will.  My  former  superiors  in  command  either  envied 
me  or  wished  to  remain  on  the  same  terms  of  intercourse  as 
formerly.  But  this  would  have  been  inconsistent  with  my 
new  position  and  have  undermined  my  authority.  One  day, 
therefore,  when  the  officers  of  the  host  were  at  one  of  my 
banquets  and  attempting,  as  usual,  to  maintain  their  old  con- 
vivial footing  I  showed  them  the  golden  basin  in  which  their 
feet  had  been  washed  before  sitting  down  to  meat;  five  days 
later,  as  they  were  again  drinking  at  one  of  my  revels  I 
caused  a  golden  image  of  the  great  god  Raf  to  be  placed  upon 

*See  "Herod.,"  ii,  172  and  following.    "Diod.,"  i,  95. 

fRa,  with  the  masculine  article  Phra,  must  be  regarded  as  the 
central  point  of  the  sun-worship  of  the  Egyptians,  which  we  consider 
to  have  been  the  foundation  of  their  entire  religion.  He  was  more 
especially  worshiped  at  Heliopolis,  the  Egyptian  An.  (Hebrew  On). 
He  is  generally  represented  in  red  on  the  monuments.  His  sacred 
animal  was  the  sparrow-hawk  and  a  winged  disk  of  the  sun  his  sym- 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  67 

the  richly  ornamented  banqueting-table.  On  perceiving  it 
they  fell  down  to  worship.  As  they  rose  from  their  knees  I 
took  the  scepter,  and,  holding  it  up  on  high  with  much 
solemnity,  exclaimed:  'In  five  days  an  artificer  has  trans- 
formed the  despised  vessel  into  which  ye  spat  and  in  which  men 
washed  your  feet  into  this  divine  image.  Such  a  vessel  was  I, 
but  the  deity,  who  can  fashion  better  and  more  quickly  than  a 
goldsmith,  has  made  me  your  king.  Bow  down  then  before 
me  and  worship.  He  who  henceforth  refuses  to  obey,  or  is 
unmindful  of  the  reverence  due  to  the  king,  is  guilty  of  death.' 

"They  fell  down  before  me,  every  one,  and  I  saved  my 
authority,  but  lost  my  friends.  As  I  now  stood  in  need  of 
some  other  prop  I  fixed  on  the  Hellenes,  knowing  that  in  all 
military  qualifications  one  Greek  is  worth  more  than  five 
Egyptians,  and  that  with  this  assistance  I  should  be  able  to 
carry  out  those  measures  which  I  thought  beneficial. 

"I  kept  the  Greek  mercenaries  always  round  me,  I  learned 
their  language,  and  it  was  they  who  brought  to  me  the  noblest 
being  I  ever  met,  Pythagoras.  I  endeavored  to  introduce 
Greek  art  and  manners  among  ourselves,'  seeing  what  folly 

bol.  In  the  ritual  of  the  dead  he  plays  the  most  important  part,  and 
hymns  and  prayers  were  principally  addressed  to  him.  Plato,  Eudoxus 
and  probably  Pythagoras  also  profited  by  the  teachings  of  his  priests. 
The  obelisks  serving  also  as  memorial  monuments  on  which  the 
names  and  deeds  of  great  kings  were  recorded,  were  sacred  to  him, 
and  Pliny  remarks  of  them  that  they  represented  the  rays  of  the  sun. 
He  was  regarded  as  the  god  of  light,  the  director  of  the  entire  visible 
creation,  over  which  he  reigned,  as  Osiris  over  the  world  of  spirits. 
As,  however,  every  earthly  manifestation  is  only  the  veil  before  a  spir- 
itual one,  Ra  is  in  reality  only  the  earthly  manifestation  of  Osiris. 
Osiris  is  the  "soul  of  Ra;"  he  walks  in  this  our  world  as  Ra,  returning 
every  evening  to  the  distant  sphere  in  which  he  lives  alone,  and  which 
is  his  true  native  land.  He  only  changes  his  name  and  outward  form 
of  existence,  governing  as  Osiris  there  and  as  Ra  in  our  world.  Each 
morning  he  reproduces  from  himself  the  renovated  Ra,  as  Horus  Ra, 
and  again  "enters  on  the  same  orbit.  Lepsius,  "Alteste  Texte  des 
Todtenbuches."  The  myth  of  Osiris,  Isis  and  Horus  lends  an  allegor- 
ic-dramatic form  to  these  views.  The  Phoenix  was  also  a  part  of  the 
worship  of  Ra.  Every  five  hundred  years  it  came  from  the  land  of 
palms  (the  eastern  Phoenicia)  to  be  consumed  by  fire  in  the  temple  of 
Heliopolis  and  to  rise  from  its  own  ashes  in  new  and  greater  beauty. 
It  symbolized  a  period  of  five  hundred  years,  which,  like  the  Phoenix, 
eternally  reproduced  itself,  and  in  its  sixfold  repetition  determined 
the  time  needed  by  the  soul  before  it  should  go  forth  purified  from  its 
pilgrimage.  Lepsius,  "Chronologic,"  p.  180  and  following. 


68  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

lay  in  a  self-willed  adherence  to  that  which  has  been  handed 
down  to  us,  when  it  is  in  itself  bad  and  unworthy,  while  the 
good  seed  lay  on  our  Egyptian  soil,  only  waiting  to  be  sown. 

"I  portioned  out  the  whole  land  to  suit  my  purposes,*  ap- 
pointed the  best  police  in  the  world  and  accomplished  much; 
but  my  highest  aim,  namely,  to  infuse  into  this  country,  at 
once  so  gay  and  so  gloomy,  the  spirit  and  intellect  of  the 
Greeks,  their  sense  of  beauty  in  form,  their  love  of  life  and 
joy  in  it,  this  all  was  shivered  on  the  same  rock  which 
threatens  me  with  overthrow  and  ruin  whenever  I  attempt 
to  accomplish  anything  new.  The  priests  are  my  opponents, 
my  masters ;  they  hang  like  a  dead  weight  upon  me.  Clinging 
with  superstitious  awe  to  all  that  is  old  and  traditionary, 
abominating  everything  foreign,  and  regarding  every  stranger 
as  the  natural  enemy  of  their  authority  and  their  teachings, 
they  can  lead  the  most  devout  and  religious  of  all  nations  with 
a  power  that  has  scarcely  any  limits.  For  this  I  am  forced  to 
sacrifice  all  my  plans,  for  this  I  see  my  life  passing  away  in 
bondage  to  their  severe  ordinances,  this  will  rob  my  death- 
bed of  peace,  and  I  cannot  be  secure  that  this  host  of  proud 
mediators  between  God  and  man  will  allow  me  to  rest  even 
in  my  grave." 

"By  Zeus  our  savior,  with  all  thy  good  fortune  thou  art 
to  be  pitied,"  interrupted  Croesus,  sympathetically.  "I  under- 
stand thy  misery,  for  though  I  have  met  with  many  an  in- 
dividual who  passed  through  life  darkly  and  gloomily,  I  could 
not  have  believed  that  an  entire  race  of  human  beings  existed 
to  whom  a  gloomy,  sullen  heart  was  as  natural  as  a  poisonous 
tooth  to  the  serpent.  Yet  it  is  true  that  on  my  journey  hither 
and  during  my  residence  at  this  court  I  have  seen  none  but 
morose  and  gloomy  countenances  among  the  priesthood. 
Even  the  youths,  thy  immediate  attendants,  are  never  seen  to 
smile,  though  cheerfulness,  that  sweet  gift  of  the  gods,  usually 
belongs  to  the  young,  as  flowers  to  spring." 

"Thou  errest,"  answered  Amasis,  "in  believing  this  gloom 
to  be  a  universal  characteristic  of  the  Egyptians.  It  is  true  that 
our  religion  requires  much  serious  thought.  There  are  few 
nations,  however,  who  have  so  largely  the  gift  of  bantering 
fun  and  joke,  or  who  on  the  occasion  of  a  festival  can  so  en- 

*"Herod.,"  ii,  177;    "Died.,"  i,  95. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  69 

tirely  forget  themselves  and  everything  else  but  the  enjoyments 
of  the  moment;  but  the  very  sight  of  a  stranger  is  odious  to 
the  priests,  and  the  moroseness  which  thou  observest  is  in- 
tended as  retaliation  on  me  for  my  alliance  with  the  strangers. 
Those  very  boys  of  whom  thou  spakest*  are  the  greatest  tor- 
ment of  my  life.  They  perform  for  me  the  service  of  slaves 
and  obey  my  slightest  nod.  One  might  imagine  that  the  par- 
ents who  devote  their  children  to  this  service,  and  who  are  the 
highest  .in  rank  among  the  priesthood,  would  be  the  most 
obedient  and  reverential  servants  of  the  king  whom  they  pro- 
fess to  honor  as  divine;  but  believe  me,  Croesus,  just  in  this 
very  act  of  devotion,  which  no  ruler  can  refuse  to  accept  with- 
out giving  offense,  lies  the  most  crafty,  scandalous  calculation. 
Each  of  these  youths  is  my  keeper,  my  spy.  They  watch  my 
smallest  actions  and  report  them  at  once  to  the  priests." 

"But  how  canst  thou  endure  such  an  existence?  Why  not 
banish  these  spies  and  select  servants  from  the  military  caste, 
for  instance?  They  would  be  quite  as  useful  as  the  priests." 

"Ah !  if  I  only  could,  if  I  dared !"  exclaimed  Amasis,  loudly. 
And  then,  as  if  frightened  at  his  own  rashness,  he  continued  in 
a  low  voice:  "I  believe  that  even  here  I  am  being  watched. 
To-morrow  I  will  have  that  grove  of  fig-trees  yonder  uprooted. 
The  young  priest  there  who  s-eems  so  fond  of  gardening  has 
other  fruit  in  his  mind  besides  the  half-ripe  figs  that  he  is  so 
slowly  dropping  into  his  basket.  While  his  hand  is  plucking 
the  figs  his  ear  gathers  the  words  that  fall  from  the  mouth  of 
his  king." 

"But,  by  our  father  Zeus,  and  by  Apollo — 

"Yes,  I  understand  thy  indignation  and  I  share  it;  but  every 
position  has  its  duties,  and  as  king  of  a  people  who  venerate 
tradition  as  the  highest  divinity,  I  must  submit,  at  least  in  the 
main,  to  the  ceremonies  handed  down  through  thousands  of 
years.  Were  I  to  burst  these  fetters,  I  know  positively  that  at 
my  death  my  body  would  remain  unburied;  for,  know  that 
the  priests  sit  in  judgment  over  every  corpse,  and  deprive  the 
condemned  of  rest,  even  in  the  grave."f 

*"Diodor.,"  i,  70. 

fThis  well-known  custom  among  the  ancient  Egyptians  is  confirmed 
not  only  by  many  Greek  narrators  but  by  the  laboriously  erased  in- 
scriptions discovered  in  the  chambers  of  some  tombs.  The  religious 
views  of  the  Egyptians  will  account  for  very  great  anxiety  lest  the  rest 


70  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"Why  care  about  the  grave?"  cried  Croesus,  becoming  angry. 
"We  live  for  life,  not  for  death  1" 

"Say  rather,"  answered  Amasis  rising  from  his  seat,  "we, 
with  our  Greek  minds,  believe  a  beautiful  life  to  be  the  highest 
good.  But,  Croesus,  I  was  begotten  and  nursed  of  Egyptian 
parents,  nourished  on  Egyptian  food,  and  though  I  have  ac- 
cepted much  that  is  Greek,  am  still,  in  my  innermost  being,  an 
Egyptian.  What  has  been  sung  to  us  in  our  childhood,  and 
praised  as  sacred  in  our  youth,  lingers  on  in  tiie  heart  until  the 
day  which  sees  us  embalmed  as  mummies.  I  am  an  old  man 
and  have  but  a  short  span  yet  to  run  before  I  reach  the  land- 
mark which  separate's  us  from  that  further  country.  For  the 
sake  of  life's  few  remaining  days,  shall  I  willingly  mar  death's 
thousands  of  years?  No,  my  friend,  in  this  point  at  least 
I  have  remained  an  Egyptian,  in  believing,  like  the  rest  of 
my  countrymen,  that  the  happiness  of  a  future  life  in  the 
kingdom  of  Osiris*  depends  on  the  preservation  of  my  body, 
the  habitation  of  the  soul.  But  enough  of  these  matters;  thou 
wilt  find  it  difficult  to  enter  into  such  thoughts.  Tell  me  rather 
what  thou  thinkest  of  our  temples  and  pyramids." 

Croesus,  after  reflecting  a  moment,  answered  with  a  smile: 
"Those  huge  pyramidal  masses  of  stone  seem  to  me  creations 
of  the  boundless  desert,  the  gayly  painted  temple  colonnades 
to  be  the  children  of  the  Spring;  but  though  the  sphinxes  lead 
up  to  your  temple  gates,  and  seem  to  point  the  way  into  the 
very  shrines  themselves,  the  sloping  fortress-like  walls  of  the 
Pylons,  those  huge  isolated  portals,  appear  as  if  placed  there 
to  repel  entrance.  Your  many-colored  hieroglyphics  likewise 
attract  the  gaze,  but  baffle  the  inquiring  spirit  by  the  mystery 
that  lies  within  their  characters.  The  images  of  your  manifold 
gods  are  everywhere  to  be  seen;  they  crowd  on  our  gaze,  and 
yet  who  knows  not  that  their  real  is  not  their  apparent  signifi- 
cance? that  they. are  mere  outward  images  of  thoughts  ac- 
cessible only  to  the  few,  and,  as  I  have  heard,  almost  incom- 

of  the  grave  should  be  disturbed.  It  has  been  questioned  whether  the 
Greek  narrators  may  not  possibly  have  confounded  the  court  of  justice 
held  over  the  dead  here  on  earth  with  the  judgment  to  come,  to  be 
held  over  the  soul  in  the  other  world;  but  we  see  no  especial  justifica- 
tion for  this  view. 

*Each  human  soul  was  considered  as  a  part  of  the  world-soul 
Osiris,  was  reunited  to  him  after  the  death  of  the  body,  and  thence- 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  7t 

prehensible  in  their  depth?  My  curiosity  is  excited  every- 
where, and  my  interest  awakened,  but  my  warm  love  of  the 
beautiful  feels  itself  in  no  way  attracted.  My  intellect  might 
strain  to  penetrate  the  secrets-  of  your  sages,  but  my  heart  and 
mind  can  never  be  at  home  in  a  creed  which  views  life  as  a 
short  pilgrimage  to  the  grave,  and  death  as  the  only  true  life!" 
"And  yet,"  said  Amasis,  "death  has  for  us,  too,  his  terrors, 
and  we  do  all  in  our  power  to  evade  his  grasp.  Our  physicians 
would  not  be  celebrated  and  esteemed  as  they  are,  if  we  did 
not  believe  that  their  skill  could  prolong  our  earthly  existence. 
This  reminds  me  of  the  oculist  Nebenchari  whom  I  sent  to 


forth  took  the  name  of  Osiris.  The  Egyptian  cosmos  consisted  of  the 
three  great  realms,  the  heavens,  the  earth  and  the  depths.  Over  the 
vast  ocean  which  girdles  the  vault  of  heaven  the  sun  moves  in  a  boat 
or  car  drawn  by  planets  and  fixed  stars.  On  this  ocean  two  great  con- 
stellations circle  in  their  ships.and  there  is  the  kingdom  of  the  blissful 
gods  who  sit  enthroned  above  this  heavenly  ocean  under  a  canopy  of 
stars.  The  mouth  of  this  great  stream  is  in  the  east,  where  the  sun- 
god  rises  from  the  mists  and  is  born  again  as  a  child  every  morning. 
The  surface  of  the  earth  is  inhabited  by  human  beings  having  a  share 
in  the  three  great  cosmic  kingdoms.  They  receive  their  soul  from  the 
heights  of  heaven,  the  seat  and  source  of  light;  their  material  body  is 
of  the  earth,  and  the  appearance  or  outward  form  by  which  one  human 
being  is  distinguished  from  another  at  sight,  his  phantom  or  shadow, 
belongs  to  death.  At  death  soul,  body  and  shadow  separate  from  one 
another.  The  soul  to  return  to  the  place  from  whence  it  came,  to 
heaven,  for1  it  is  a  part  of  god  (of  Osiris);  the  body  to  be  committed  to 
the  earth  from  which  it  was  formed  in  the  image  of  its  creator;  the 
phantom  or  shadow  to  descend  into  the  depths,  the  kingdom  of  shad- 
ows. The  gate  to  this  kingdom  was  placed  in  the  west  among  sunset 
hills,  where  the  sun  goes  down  daily — where  .he  dies.  Thence  arise 
the  changeful  and  corresponding  conceptions  connected  with  rising 
and  setting,  arriving  and  departing,  being  born  and  dying.  The  care- 
ful preservation  of  the  body  after  death  from  destruction  not  only 
through  the  process  of  inward  decay,  but  also  through  violence  or 
accident,  was  in  the  religion  of  ancient  Egypt  a  principal  condition 
(perhaps  introduced  by  the  priests  on  sanitary  grounds)  on  which 
depended  the  speedy  deliverance  of  the  soul,  and  with  this  her  early 
appointed  union  with  the  source  of  light  and  good,  which  two  proper- 
ties were  in  idea  one  and  indivisible.  In  the  Egyptian  conceptions 
the  soul  was  supposed  to  remain,  in  a  certain  sense,  connected  with  the 
body  during  a  long  cyclus  of  solar  years.  She  could,  however,  quit  the 
body  from  time  to  time  at  will  and  could  appear  to  mortals  in  various 
forms  and  places;  these  appearances  differed  according  to  the  hour, 
and  were  prescribed  in  exact  words  and  delineations.  From  "Tombs 
and  Papyri."  Brugsch,  "AegynHsche  Graberwelt,"  p.  6. 


72  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

Susa,  to  the  king.  Does  he  maintain  his  reputation?  is  the 
king  content  with  him?" 

"Very  much  so,"  answered  Croesus.  "He  has  been  of 
use  to  many  of  the  blind;  but  the  king's  mother  is  alas!  still 
sightless.  It  was  Nebenchari  who  first  spoke  to  Canibyses 
of  the  charms  of  thy  daughter  Tachot.  But  we  deplore  that 
he  understands  diseases  of  4he  eye  alone.  When  the  Princess 
Atossa  lay  ill  of  fever,  he  was-  not  to  be  induced  to  bestow  a 
word  of  counsel." 

"That  is  very  natural;  our  physicians  are  only  permitted  to 
treat  one  part  of  the  body.  We  have  aurists,  dentists  and 
oculists,  surgeons  for  fractures  of  the  bone,  and  others  for 
internal  diseases.  By  the  ancient  priestly  law  a  dentist  is  not 
allowed  to  treat  a  deaf  man,  nor  a  surgeon  for  broken  bones 
a  patient  who  is  suffering  from  a  disease  of  the  bowels,  even 
though  he  should  have  a  first-rate  knowledge  of  internal  com- 
plaints.* This  law  aims  at  securing  a  great  deal  of  real  and 
thorough  knowledge ;  an  aim,  indeed,  pursued  by  the  priests  (to 
whose  caste  the  physicians  belong)  with  a  most  praiseworthy 
earnestness  in  all  branches  of  science.  Yonder  lies  the  house 
of  the  high-priest  Neithotep,  whose  knowledge  of  astronomy 
and  geometry  was  so  highly  praised,  even  by  Pythagoras. 
It  lies  next  to  the  porch  leading  into  the  temple  of  the  goddess 
Neith,  the  protectress  of  Sais1.  Would  I  could  show  thee  the 
sacred  grove  with  its  magnificent  trees,  the  splendid  pillars 
of  the  temple  with  capitals  modeled  from  the  lotus-flower,f 
and  the  colossal  chapel  which  I  caused  to  be  wrought  from  a 


*"Herod.,"  ii,  84.  Borner,  "Antiquitates  Medicinae,"  p.  20.  Hirsch, 
"Geschichte  der  Medicin." 

fThe  Egyptian  columns  were  made  in  the  form  of  plants.  When  the 
capitals  were  not  adorned  with  masks  of  the  gods,  as  at  Dendera,  they 
were  intentionally  carved  in  the  likeness  of  palms,  lotus-flowers,  or 
seed-capsules.  Shafts  representing  a  number  of  papyrus  reeds  are 
often  to  be  found,  for  example  in  the  temple  at  Luxor.  See  Lepsius 
"On  the  Connection  Between  Ancient  Egyptian  and  Doric  Columns." 
"Ueber  den  Zusammenhang  der  altagyptischen,  tmd  dorischen  Saule." 
Lepsius.  "Sur  Pordre  des  colonnes  pilliers  en  Egypte,  et  ses  rap- 
ports," etc.,  in  the  "Annales  de  1'insitut  de  Corresp.  Arch.  Rome,"  1838, 
Vol.  ix.  Champollion  has  already  inferred  that  the  entrance  to  the 
tombs  of  Benihassen  might  prove  of  great  importance  to  the  history 
of  the  origin  of  the  forms  of  columns.  "Lettres  ecr.  d'Eg.  et  de  Nubia," 
p.  74  and  following. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  73 

single  piece  of  granite,  as  an  offering  to  the  goddess;*  but, 
alas!  entrance  is  strictly  refus-ed  to  strangers  by  the  priests. 
Come,  let  us  seek  my  wife  and  daughter;  they  have  conceived 
an  affection  for  thee,  and  indeed  it  is  my  wish  that  thou  shouldst 
gain  a  friendly  feeling  toward  this  poor  maiden  before  she 
goes  forth  with  thee  to  the  strange  land  and  to  the  strange 
nation  whose  princess  she  is  to  become.  Wilt  thou  not  adopt 
and  take  her  under  thy  care?" 

"On  that  thou  may'st  with  fullest  confidence  rely,"  replied 
Croesus,  with  warmth,  returning  the  pressure  of  Amasis'  hand. 
"I  will  protect  thy  Nitetis  as  if  I  were  her  father;  and  she  will 
need  my  help,  for  the  apartments  of  the  women  in  the  Persian 
palaces  are  dangerous  ground.  But  she  will  meet  with  great 
consideration.  Cambyses1  may  be  contented  with  his  choice,  and 
will  be  highly  gratified  that  thou  has  intrusted  him  with  thy 
fairest  child.  Nebenchari  had  only  spoken  of  Tachot,  thy 
second  daughter." 

"Nevertheless,  I  will  send  my  beautiful  Nitetis.  Tachot  is 
so  tender,  that  she  could  scarcely  endure  the  fatigues-  of  the 
journey  and  the  pain  of  separation.  Indeed,  were  I  to  follow 
the  dictates  of  my  own  heart,  Nitetis  should  never  leave  us  for 
Persia.  But  Egypt  stands  in  need  of  peace,  and  I  was  aching 
before  I  became  a  father!" 


CHAPTER   V. 

The  other  members  of  the  Persian  embassy  had  returned  to 
Sais  from  their  excursion  up  the  Nile  to  the  pyramids.  Prex- 
aspes  alone,  the  ambassador  from  Cambyses,  had  already  set 
out  for  Persia,  in  order  to  inform  the  king  of  the  successful 
issue  of  his  suit. 

The  palace  of  Amasis  was  full  of  life  and  stir.  The  huge 
building  was  filled  in  all  parts  by  the  followers  of  the  embassy, 
nearly  three  hundred  in  number,  and  by  the  high  guests  them- 
selves, to  whom  every  possible  attention  was  paid.  The  courts 
of  the  palace  swarmed  with  guards  and  officials',  with  young 
priests  and  slaves,  all  in  splendid  festal  raiment 

*"Herod.,"  ii,  175. 


74  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

On  this  day  it  was  the  king's  intention  to  make  an  especial 
display  of  the  wealth  and  splendor  of  his  court  at  a  festival 
arranged  in  honor  of  his  daugther's  betrothal. 

The  lofty  reception-hall  opening  onto  the  gardens,  with  its 
ceiling  sown  with  thousands  of  golden  stars  and  supported 
by  gayly  painted  columns,  presented  a  magic  appearance. 
Lamps  of  colored  papyrus  hung  against  the  walls  and  threw  a 
strange  light  on  the  scene,  something  like  that  when  the  sun's 
rays  strike  through  colored  glass.  The  space  between  the 
columns  and  the  walls  was  filled  with  choice  plants1,  palms,  ole- 
anders, pomegranates,  oranges  and  roses,  behind  which  an 
invisible  band  of  harp  and  flute  players  was  stationed,  who 
received  the  guests  with  strains  of  monotonous,  solemn  music.* 

The  floor  of  this  hall  was  paved  in  black  and  white,  and  in 
the  middle  stood  elegant  tables  covered  with  dishes  of  all  kinds, 
cold  roast  meats,  sweets,  well-arranged  baskets  of  fruit  and 
cake,  golden  jugs  of  wine,  glass1  drinking-ctips  and  artistic 
flower-vases. 

A  multitude  of  richly  dressed  slaves,  under  direction  of  the 
high  steward,  busied  themselves  in  handing  these  dishes  to 
the  guests,  who,  either  standing  around,  or  reclined  on  sump- 
tuous- seats,  entertained  themselves  in  conversation  with  their 
friends. 

Both  sexes  and  all  ages  were  to  be  found  in  this  assembly. 
As  the  women  entered  they  received  charming  little  nosegays 
from  the  young  priests  in  the  personal  service  of  the  king,  and 
many  a  youth  of  high  degree  appeared  in  the  hall  with  flowers, 
which  he  not  only  offered  to  her  he  loved  best,  but  held  up  for 
her  to  smell. 

The  Egyptian  men,  who  were  dressed  as  we  have  already 
seen  them  at  the  reception  of  the  Persian  embassy,  behaved 
toward  the  women  with  a  politeness  which  might  almost  be 
termed  submissive;  among  the  latter  few  could  pretend  to  re- 
markable beauty.  The  greater  number  wore  roses  and  lotus- 
flowers  in  their  hair,  on  the  forehead  and  temples. 

They  carried  fans  of  bright  feathers  in  their  delicate  hands. 

"The  description  of  this  assembly  is  borrowed  from  the  paintings 
on  walls  which  have  been  reproduced  by  Wilkinson,  Rosellini,  Lepsius 
and  others  in  their  large  works.  A  picture  copied  by  Dumichen  in 
Egypt,  but  hitherto  unpublished,  and  representing  very  graphically  a 
private  party  in  the  time  of  the  Pharaohs  interested  me  excessively. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  75 

These  were  loaded  with  rings;  the  finger-nails  were  stained 
red,*  according  to  Egyptian  custom,  and  gold  or  silver  bands 
were  worn  above  the  elbow,  at  the  wrists  and  ankles. 

Their  robes  were  beautiful  and  costly,  and  in  many  cases  so 
cut  as  to  leave  the  right  breast  uncovered. 

Bartja,  the  young  Persian  prince,  among  the  men,  and 
Nitetis,  the  Pharaoh's  daughter,  among  the  women,  were 
equally  conspicuous  for  their  superior  beauty,  grace  and 
charms.  The  royal  maiden  wore  a  transparent  rose-colored 
robe,  in  her  black  hair  were  fresh  roses;  she  walked  by  the  side 
of  her  sister,  the  two  robed  alike,  but  Nitetis  pale  as  the  lotus- 
flower  in  her  mother's  hair. 

Ladice,  the  queen,f  by  birth  a  Greek,  and  daughter  of  Battus 
of  Cyrene,  walked  by  the  side  of  Amasis  and  presented  the 
young  Persian  to  her  children.  A  light  lace  robe  was  thrown 
over  her  garment  of  purple,  embroidered  with  gold ;  and  on 
her  beautiful  Grecian  head  she  wore  the  Uraeus  serpent,  the 
ornament  peculiar  to  Egyptian  queens.^ 

Her  countenance  was  noble  yet  charming,  and  every  move- 
ment betrayed  the  grace  only  to  be  imparted  by  a  Greek  educa- 
tion. 

Amasis,  in  making  choice  of  this  queen,  after  the  death  of 
his  second  wife  (the  Egyptian  Tentcheta,§  mother  of  Psamtik, 
the  heir  to  the  throne),  had  followed  his  prepossession  in  favor 
of  the  Greek  nation  and  defied  the  wrath  of  the  priests. 

The  two  girls  at  Ladice's  side,  Tachot  and  Nitetis,  were  called 
twin  sisters,  but  showed  no  signs  of  that  resemblance  usually 
to  be  found  in  twins. 

This  custom  is  still  prevalent  in  the  east;  the  plant,  Hehenna, 
"Lausonia  spinosa,"  called  by  Pliny,  xiii,  1,  Cyprus,  being  used  for  the 
purpose. 

f'Herod.,"  ii,  181.  The  second  consort  of  Amasis  must,  according 
to  her  cartouche,  have  been  called  Sebaste.  This  name  may  be  Egyp- 
tian, or  it  may  be  Greek.  If  the  latter  it  signifies  the  "highly  esteemed, 
the  worshiped,"  and  proves  that  she  was  in  fact  a  native  of  Hellas. 

$The  Uraeus,  the  emblem  of  sovereignty,  formed  part  of  the  head- 
dress of  every  Egyptian  king  or  queen.  A  head-dress  of  silver,  belong- 
ing to  an  Egyptian  queen  with  the  head  of  this  serpent,  can  be  seen  in 
the  museum  at  Leyden.  Drawings  in  Champollion,  "Mon.,"  Rosellini, 
"Mon.  Stor.  and  Civil.,"  Wilkinson,  Lepsius  and  many  others. 

§The  first  consort  of  Amasis  appears  to  have  been  Anchnas,  the 
widow  of  Psamtik  II,  whom  he  probably  married  from  political 
reasons,  as  she  was  already  somewhat  advanced  in  years.  Lepsius, 
"Konigsbuch,"  ii,  pi.  xxxviii. 


76  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

Tachot  was  a  fair,  blue-eyed  girl,*  small,  and  delicately  built; 
Nitetis,  on  the  other  hand,  tall  and  majestic,  with  black  hair 
and  eyes,  evinced  in  every  action  that  she  was  of  royal  blood. 

"How  pale  thou  look'st,  my  child!"  said  Ladice,  kissing 
Nitetis'  cheek.  "Be  of  good  courage,  and  meet  thy  future 
bravely.  Here  is  the  noble  Bartja,  the  brother  of  thy  future 
husband." 

Nitetis  raised  her  dark,  thoughtful  eyes  and  fixed  them  long 
and  inquiringly  on  the  beautiful  youth.  He  bowed  low  before 
the  blushing  maiden,  kissed  her  garment,  and  said: 

"I  salute  thee  as  my  future  queen  and  sister!  I  can  believe 
that  thy  heart  is  sore  at  parting  from  thy  home,  thy  parents, 
brethren  and  sisters;  but  be  of  good  courage;  thy  husband 
is  a  great  hero  and  a  powerful  king;  our  mother  is  the  nobles* 
of  women,  and  among  the  Persians  the  beauty  and  virtue  of 
women  is  as  much  revered  as  the  life-giving  light  of  the  sun, 
Of  thee,  thou  sister  of  the  lily  Nitetis,  whom  by  her  side  I 
might  venture  to  call  the  rose,  I  beg  forgiveness  for  robbing 
thee  of  thy  dearest  friend." 

As  he  said  these  words  he  looked  eagerly  into  Tachot's 
beautiful  blue  eyes;  she  bent  low,  pressing  her  hand  upon  her 


*The  Egyptian  women  were  not  exactly  considered  as  beautiful 
among  the  ancients.  Nevertheless  we  find  some  very  agreeable  coun- 
tenances among  the  portraits  of  queens  and  princesses  given  us  by 
Rosellini  and  Lepsius.  Among  the  sphinxes,  too,  we  find  heads  which 
correspond  entirely  to  our  present  ideas  of  beauty.  Denon,  speaking 
of  the  ancient  pictures  of  Egyptian  women,  says:  "Celle  des  femme? 
ressemble  encore  a  la  figure  des  jolies  femmes  d'aujourd'  hui:  de  la 
rondeur,  de  la  volupte,  le  nez  petit,  les  yeux  longs,  peu  ouverts  .  .  . 
le  caractere  de  tete  de  la  plupart  tenait  du  beau  styl."  And  Gen.  Heil- 
bronner,  in  his  excellent  book  of  travels  in  Egypt,  goes  even  farther 
when  speaking  of  the  heads  of  the  women.  It  is  placed  beyond  doubt 
that  the  Egyptian  nation  was  originally  a  wandering  tribe,  belonging 
to  the  so-called  Caucasian  race,  which  settled  on  the  Nile.  See  Ebers, 
"Aegypten  u.  d.  Biicher  Mose's,"  i,  40  and  following.  Euripedes 
speaks  of  beautiful  maidens  as  dwelling  on  the  shores  of  the  Nile.  It 
is  also  certain  that  there  were  fair-haired  women  among  the  Egyp- 
tians. In  Syncellus'  "Manetho"  the  queen  Nitocris  is  called  iW?) 
TJ)V  XP°I&V,  that  is  to  say  fair-haired,  and  among  the  portraits  given 
by  Rosellini,  "Mon.  Stor.,"  pi.  xix,  we  have  discovered  a  fair-haired 
princess  who,  in  text  vol.  ii,  p.  510,  is  called  Reninofre,  daughter 
of  Tutmes  IV.  It  seems  to  us,  however,  that  her  cartouche  must  be 
read  Ranofre,  who,  according  to  Lepsius,  was  a  daughter  of  Tutmes 
III. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  77 

heart,  and  gazed  on  him  long  after  Amasis  had  drawn  him 
away  to  a  seat  immediately  opposite  the  dancing-girls,  who 
were  just  about  to  display  their  skill  for  the  entertainment  of 
the  guests.  A  thin  petticoat  was  the  only  clothing  of  these 
girls',  who  threw  and  wound  their  flexible  limbs  to  a  measure 
played  on  harp  and  tambourine.  After  the  dance  appeared 
Egyptian  singers  and  buffoons*  for  the  further  amusement  of 
the  company. 

At  length  some  of  the  courtiers  forsook  the  hall,  their  grave 
demeanor  being  somewhat  overcome  by  intoxication.f  The 
women  were  carried  home  in  gay  litters  by  slaves  with  torches, 
and  only  the  highest  military  commanders,  the  Persian  am- 
bassadors and  a  few  officials,  especial  friends  of  Amasis,  re- 
mained behind.  These  were  retained  by  the  master  of  the 
ceremonies  and  conducted  to  a  richly  ornamented  salon,  where 
a  gigantic  wine-bowl  standing  on  a  table  adorned  in  the  Greek 
fashion  invited  to  a  drinking-bout. 

Amasis  was  seated  in  a  high  armchair^  at  the  head  of  the 

*Dancing-girls  who  accompanied  themselves  on  the  guitar.  "Wil- 
kinson," ii,  301;  players  on  the  harp,  "Wilkinson,"  ii,  20;  harpists  and 
blind  singers,  ii,  239;  women  with  tambourines,  ii,  240;  men  playing 
on  the  double  flute,  ii,  232  and  234;  entertainment  with  dancing-girls 
and  musicians,  "Wilkinson,"  ii,  pi.  xii;  ii,  390;  jugglers,  "Wilkinson," 
ii,  433.  Musical  instruments  are  to  be  found  in  the  museums.  The 
dancing-girls  whom  we  see  singing  at  the  same  time  may  be  com- 
pared to  the  Almehs  of  the  present  day,  who  enliven  the  entertain- 
ments of  the  modern  Cairenes  and  the  inhabitants  of  other  towns  on 
the  Nile  by  their  charms,  their  singing  and  dancing.  In  ancient 
Egypt  they  were  called  Achennu,  and  seem  to  have  formed  a  part  of 
the  establishments  of  the  great  lords. 

fUnfortunately  women  as  well  as  men  are  to  be  seen  depicted  on 
the  monuments  in  an  intoxicated  condition.  One  man  is  being  car- 
ried home  like  a  log  of  wood  on  the  heads  of  his  servants.  "Wilkin- 
son," ii,  168.  Another  is  standing  on  his  head,  ii,  169,  and  several 
ladies  are  in  the  act  of  returning  the  excessive  quantity  which  they 
have  drunk,  "Wilkinson,"  ii,  167.  At  the  great  Techu  festival  at 
Dendera  intoxication  seems  to  have  been  as  much  commended  as  at 
the  festivals  of  Dionysus  under  the  Ptolemies,  one  of  whom  (Ptolemy 
Dionysus)  threatened  those  who.  remained  sober  with  the  punishment 
of  death.  But  intoxication  was  in  general  looked  upon  by  the  Egyp- 
tians as  a  forbidden  and  despicable  vice.  In  the  papyrus  "Anastasi," 
iv,  for  instance,  we  read  these  words  on  a  drunkard:  "Thou  art  as  a 
sanctuary  without  a  divinity,  as  a  house  without  bread,"  and  further: 
"How  carefully  should  men  avoid  beer  (hek)." 

JRoyal  armchairs,  expensively  gilded  and  cushioned  in  gay  colors. 
"Wilkinson,"  ii,  pi.  xi.  Rosellini,  "Mon.  Civ.,"  pi.  90-92. 


78  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

table;  at  his  left  the  youthful  Bartja,  at  his  right  the  aged 
Croesus.  Besides*  these  and  the  other  Persians,  Theodorus 
and  Ibykus,  the  friends  of  Polykrates  already  known  to  us, 
and  Aristomachus,  now  commander  of  the  Greek  bodyguard, 
were  among  the  king's  guests. 

Amasis,  whom  we  have  just  heard  in  such  grave  discourse 
with  Croesus1,  now  indulged  in  jest  and  satire.  He  seemed 
once  more  the  wild  officer,  the  bold  reveler  of  the  olden  days. 

His  sparkling,  clever  jokes,  at  times  playful,  at  times  scorn- 
ful, flew  round  among  the  revelers.  The  guests  responded  in 
loud,  perhaps  often  artificial,  laughter  to  their  king's  jokes, 
goblet  after  goblet  was  emptied,  and  the  rejoicings  had  reached 
their  highest  point,  when  suddenly  the  master  of  the  ceremonies 
appeared,  bearing  a  small  gilded  mummy,  and,  displaying  it 
to  the  gaze  of  the  assembly,  exclaimed:  "Drink,  jest,  and  be 
merry,  for  all  too  soon  ye  shall  become  like  unto  this!"* 

"Is  it  your  custom  thus  to  introduce  death  at  all  your  ban- 
quets?" said  Bartja,  becoming  serious,  "or  is  this  only  a  jest 
devised  for  to-day  by  your  master  of  the  ceremonies?" 

"Since  the  earliest  ages,"  answered  Amasis,  "  it  has  been  our 
custom  to  display  these  mummies  at  banquets',  in  order  to 
increase  the  mirth  of  the  revelers,  by  reminding  them  that  one 
must  enjoy  the  time  while  it  is  here.  Thou  young  butterfly 
hast  still  many  a  long  and  joyful 'year  before  thee;  but  we, 
Croesus,  we  old  men,  must  hold  by  this  firmly.  Fill  the 
goblets,  cup-bearer;  let  not  one  moment  of  our  lives  be  wasted! 
Thou  canst  drink  well,  thou  golden-haired  Persian!  Truly 
the  great  gods1  have  endowed  thee  not  only  with  beautiful  eyes 
and  blooming  beauty,  but  with  a  good  throat!  Let  me  em- 
brace thee,  thou  glorious  youth,  thou  rogue!  What  thinkest 
thou,  Croesus?  my  daughter  Tachot  can  speak  of  nothing  else 
than  of  this  beardless  youth,  who  seems  to  have  quite  turned 
her  little  head  with  his  sweet  looks  and  words.  Thou  needest 
not  blush,  young  madcap!  A  man  such  as  thou  art  may  well 

*"Herod.,"  ii,  78.  Petron.  "Satyr.,"  c.  34.  Nicol.  Damasc.,  "Orat," 
i.  "Wilkinson"  gives  drawings  of  these  mummies  (ii,  410),  hundreds 
of  which  were  placed  in  the  tombs,  and  have  been  preserved  to  us. 
Lucian  was  present  at  a  banquet  when  they  were  handed  round.  The 
Greeks  seem  to  have  adopted  this  custom,  but  with  their  usual  talent 
for  beautifying  all  they  touched,  substituted  a  winged  figure  of  death 
for  the  mummy. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  79 

look  at  king's  daughters;  but  wert  thou  thy  father  Cyrus  him- 
self, I  could  not  allow  my  Tachot  to  leave  me  for  Persia!" 

"Father!"  whispered  the  crown-prince  Psamtik,  interrupting 
this  conversation.  "Father,  take  care  what  you  say,  and  re- 
member Phanes."  The  Icing  turned  a  frowning  glance  on  his 
son ;  but,  following  his  advice,  took  much  less  part  in  the  con- 
versation, which  now  became  more  general. 

The  seat  at  the  banquet-table,  occupied  by  Aristomachus, 
placed  him  nearly  opposite  to  Croesus,  on  whom,  in  total  si- 
lence and  without  once  indulging  in  a  smile  at  the  king's  jests, 
his  eyes  had  been  fixed  from  the  beginning  of  the  revel.  When 
the  Pharaoh  ceased  to  speak  he  accosted  Croesus  suddenly 
with  the  following  question:  "I  would  know,  Lydian,  whether 
the  snow  still  covered  the  mountains  when  ye  left  Persia." 

Smiling,  and  a  little  surprised  at  this  strange  speech,  Croesus 
answered:  "Most  of  the  Persian  mountains  were  green  when 
we  started  for  Egypt  four  months  ago;  but  there  are  heights 
in  the  land  of  Cambyses  on  which,  even  in  the  hottest  seasons, 
the  snow  never  melts,*  and  the  glimmer  of  their  white  crests 
we  could  still  perceive  as1  we  descended  into  the  plains." 

The  Spartan's  face  brightened  visibly,  and  Croesus,  attracted 
by  this  serious,  earnest  man,  asked  his  name. 

"My  name  is  Aristomachus." 

"That  name  seems  known  to  me." 

"You  were  acquainted  with  many  Hellenes,  and  my  name 
is  common  among  them." 

"Your  dialect  would  bespeak  you  a  Dorian;  and  in  my 
opinion  a  Spartan." 

"I  was  one  once." 

"And  now  no  more?" 

"He  who  forsakes  his  native  land  without  permission  is 
worthy  of  death." 

"Have  you  forsaken  it  with  your  own  free  will?" 

"Yes." 

"For  what  reason?" 

"To  escape  dishonor." 

"What  was  your  crime?" 

"I  had  committed  none." 

*More  especially  on  the  Demawend.  I  would  refer  the  reader  to 
the  ascent  of  this  mountain  as  described  by  Brugsch  in  his  very  inter-5 
esting  account  of  "Travels  in  Persia,"  i,  p.  284. 


80  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"You  were  accused  unjustly?" 

"Yes." 

"Who  was  the  author  of  your  ill-fortune?" 

"Yourself." 

Croesus  started  from  his-  seat.  The^erious  tone  and  gloomy 
face  of  the  Spartan  proved  that  this  was  no  jest,  and  those  who 
sat  near  the  speakers  and  had  been  following  this  strange 
dialogue  were  alarmed  and  begged  Aristomachus  to  explain 
his  words. 

He  hesitated  and  seemed  unwilling  to  speak;  at  last,  how- 
ever, at  the  king's-  summons,  he  began  thus: 

"In  obedience  to  the  oracle,*  you,  Croesus,  had  chosen  us 
Lacedaemonians,  as  the  most  powerful  among  the  Hellenes', 
to  be  your  allies  against  the  might  of  Persia;  and  you  gave  us 
gold  for  the  statue  of  Apollo  on  Mount  Thornax.  The  ephori, 
on  this,  resolved  to  present  you  with  a  gigantic  bronze  wine- 
bowl, richly  wrought.  I  was  chosen  as  bearer  of  this  gift. 
Before  reaching  Sardis  our  ship  was  wrecked  in  a  storm.  The 
wine-cup  sank  with  it,  and  we  reached  Samos  with  nothing 
but  our  lives.  On  returning  home  I  was  accused  by  enemies, 
and  those  who  grudged  my  good  fortune,  of  having  sold  both 
ship  and  wine-vessel  to  the  Samians.  As  they  could  not  con- 
vict me  of  the  crime,  and  had  yet  determined  on  my  ruin,  I  was 
sentenced  to  two  days'  and  nights'  exposure  on  the  pillory. 
My  foot  was  chained  to  it  during  the  night;  but  before  the 
morning  of  disgrace  dawned  my  brother  brought  me  secretly 
a  sword,  that  my  honor  might  be  saved,  though  at  the  expense 
of  my  life.  But  I  could  not  die  before  revenging  myself  on  the 
men  who  had  worked  my  ruin;  and  therefore,  cutting  the 
manacled  foot  from  my  leg,  I  escaped  and  hid  in  the  rushes  on 
the  banks  of  the  Eurotas.  My  brother  brought  me  food  and 
drink  in  secret;  and  after  two  months  I  was  able  to  walk  on 
the  wooden  leg  you  now  see.  Apollo  undertook  my  revenge; 
he  never  misses  his  mark,  and  my  two  worst  opponents  died 
of  the  plague.  Still  I  durst  not  return  home,  and  at  length 
took  ship  from  Gythium  to  fight  against  the  Persians  under 
you,  Croesus.  On  landing  at  Teos  I  heard  that  you  were 
king  no  longer;  that  the  mighty  Cyrus,  the  father  of  yonder 
beautiful  youth,  had  conquered  the  powerful  province  of  Lydia 
in  a  few  weeks,  and  reduced  the  richest  of  kings  to  beggary." 

*"Herod.,"  i,  52,  54,  69,  70.    Xenoph.,  "Cyrop.,  iv,  2,  5. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  81 

x 

Every  guest  gazed  at  Aristomachus  in  admiration.  Croesus 
shook  his  hard  hand;  and  Bartja  exclaimed:  "Spartan,  I  would 
I  could  take  you  back  with  me  to  Susa,  that  my  friends  there 
might  see  what  I  have  seen  myself,  the  most  courageous,  the 
most  honorable  of  men!" 

"Believe  me,  boy,"  returned  Aristomachus  smiling,  "every 
Spartan  would  have  done  the  same.  In  our  country  it  needs 
more  courage  to  be  a  coward  than  a  brave  man." 

"And  you,  Bartja,"  cried  Darius,  the  Persian  king's  cousin, 
"could  you. have  borne  to  stand  at  the  pillory?" 

Bartja  reddened,  but  it  was  easy  to  see  that  he,  too,  preferred 
death  to  disgrace. 

"Zopyrus,  what  say  you?"  asked  Darius1  of  the  third  young 
Persian. 

"I  could  mutilate  my  own*  limbs  for  love  of  you  two,"  an- 
swered he,  grasping  unobserved  the  hands  of  his  two  friends. 

With  an  ironical  smile  Psamtik  sat  watching  this  scene — 
the  pleased  faces  of  Amasis,  Croesus,  and  Gyges,  the  meaning 
glances  of  the  Egpytians  and  the  contented  looks  with  which 
Aristomachus  gazed  on  the  young  heroes. 

Ibykus  now  told  of  the  oracle  which  had  promised  Aristom- 
achus a  retarn  to  his  native  land,  on  the  approach  of  the  men 
from  the  snowy  mountains,  and  at  the  same  time  mentioned 
the  hospitable  house  of  Rhodopis. 

On  hearing  this  name  Psamtik  grew  restless ;  Croesus  ex- 
pressed a  wish  to  form  the  acquaintance  of  the  Thracian  ma- 
tron, of  whom  Aesop  had  related  so  much  that  was  praise- 
worthy; and  as  the  other  guests,  many  of  whom  had  lost  con- 
sciousness through  excessive  drinking,  were  leaving  the  hall 
the  dethroned  monarch,  the  poet,  the  sculptor,  and  the  Spartan 
hero  made  an  agreement  to  go  to  Naukratis  the  next  day  and 
there  enjoy  the-  conversation  of  Rhodopis. 

*Further  on  in  our  story  we  shall  see  that  this  apparently  hyper- 
bolical protestation  was  carried  out  by  Zopyrus. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 


CHAPTER   VI. 


On  the  night  following  the  banquet  just  described  Amasis 
allowed  himself  only  three  hours'  rest.  On  this,  as  on  every 
other  morning,  the  young  priests  wakened  him  at  the  first 
cock  crow,  conducted  him  as  usual  to  the  bath,  arrayed  him  in 
the  royal  vestments-  and  led  him  to  the  altar  in  the  court  of 
the  palace,  where  in  presence  of  the  populace  he  offered  sacri- 
fice. During  the  offering  the  priests  sang  prayers  in  a  loud 
voice,  enumerated  the  virtues  of  their  king,  and  that  blame 
might  in  no  case  light  on  the  head  of  their  ruler  made  his  bad 
advisers  responsible  for  every  deadly  sin  committed  in  igno- 
rance. 

They  exhorted  him  to  the  performance  of  good  deeds  while 
extolling  his  virtues;  read  aloud  profitable  portions  of  the  holy 
writings-  containing  the  deeds  and  sayings  of  great  men,  and 
then  conducted  him  to  his  apartments,  where  letters  and  in- 
formation from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom  awaited  him.* 

Amasis  was  in  the  habit  of  observing  most  faithfully  these 
daily  repeated  ceremonies  and  hours  of  work;  the  remaining 
portion  of  the  day  he  spent  as  it  pleased  him,  and  generally 
in  cheerful  society.f 

The  priests  reproached  him  with  this,  alleging  that  such  a 
life  was  not  suited  to  a  monarch ;  and  on  one  occasion  he  had 
thus  replied  to  the  indignant  high-priest:  "Look  at  this  bow! 
if  always  bent  it  must  lose  its  power,  but  if  used  for  half  of 
each  day  and  then  allowed  to  rest  it  will  remain  strong  and 
useful  till  the  string  breaks." 

Amasis  had  just  signed  his  name  to  the  last  letter  granting 
the  petition  of  a  Nomarch$  for  money  to  carry  on  different 

*This  arrangement  of  the  day  of  a  king  of  Egypt,  given  by  Dio- 
dorus  (i,  70),  is  in  its  principal  particulars  confirmed  by  the  monu- 
ments. 

f'Herod.,"  ii,  173. 

JNomarch  was  the  title  given  to  the  supreme  administrators  of  the 
provinces  of  Nomoi,  into  which  the  entire  kingdom  of  Egypt  was 
divided.  The  word  Nomos  (  vo^oq  )  is  purely  Greek  and  probably 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  83 

embankments*  rendered  necessary  by-the  last  inundation,  when 
a  servant  entered,  bringing  a  request  from  the  crown-prince 
Psamtik  for  an  audience  of  a  few  minutes. 

Amasis,  who  till  this  moment  had  been  smiling  cheerfully 
at  the  cheering  reports  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  now  be- 
came suddenly  serious  and  thoughtful.  After  long  delay  he 
answered:  "Go  and  inform  the  prince  that  he  may  appear." 

Psamtik  appeared,  pale  and  gloomy  as  ever;  he  bowed  low 
and  reverentially  on  entering  his  father's  presence. 

Amasis  nodded  silently  in  return,  and  then  asked  abruptly 
and  sternly:  "What  is  thy  desire?  my  time  is  limited." 

"For  your  son,  more  than  for  others,"  replied  the  prince, 
with  quivering  lips.  "Seven  times  have  I  petitioned  for  the 
great  favor  which  thou  grantest  for  the  first  time  to-day." 

"No  reproaches!  I  suspect  the  reason  of  thy  visit.  Thou 
desirest  an  answer  to  thy  doubts  as  to  the  birth  of  thy  sister 
Nitetis." 

"I  have  no  curiosity;    I  come  rather  to  warn  thee  and  to 

signified  originally  a  district  of  pasture  or  meadow-land.  The 
Egyptian  word  is  p-tesch  or  hesp.  We  are  now,  more  especially 
owing  to  the  labors  of  Harris,  Brugsch,  Parthey,  Dumichen  and 
Jacques  de  Rouge,  possessed  of  the  most  exact  information  on  the 
division  of  the  ancient  kingdom  of  the  Pharaohs.  The  results  arrived 
at  by  the  above-mentioned  scholars  were  obtained  through  the  dis- 
covery of  numerous  lists  of  the  Nomoi  carved  in  the  temple  walls, 
from  which  it  can  be  seen  that  the  entire  kingdom  was  divided  into 
fifty  provinces  or  districts,  viz. :  twenty-six  for  Upper  and  twenty-four 
for  Lower  Egypt.  Each  of  these  was  subdivided  into  three  smaller 
ones.  A  very  correct  definition  of  the  Nomoi  is  given  by  Cyril, 
Bishop  of  Alexandria.  "Easai.,"  19.  From  the  latest  discoveries  it 
seems  probable  that  the  limits  of  the  Nomoi  were  not  determined  by 
local  conditions,  but  by  accurate  mathematical  measurements.  In- 
ferior in  rank  to  the  Nomarchs,  who  governed  each  an  entire  province, 
and  probably  resided  in  its  metropolis,  were  the  Toparchs,  who  ad- 
ministered the  affairs  of  the  local  circles.  These  smaller  districts 
were  again  divided  into  plots  of  meadow  or  pastureland  (apovpai, 
fiepides).  Strabo,  787. 

*Embankments  were  peculiarly  necessary  on  the  shores  of  the  Nile, 
and  the  Pharaohs  took  much  pride  in  maintaining  them.  Herodotus 
speaks  of  the  embankment  of  the  western  arm  of  the  Nile  near  Mem- 
phis, constructed  by  Menes,  which  information  may  be  correct.  Bun- 
sen,  "Aegyptens  Stelle  i.  d.  Weltgeschichte,"  ii,  p.  40.  There  is  no 
longer  any  doubt  that  the  lake  of  Moeris  was  excavated  as  a  means 
of  regulating  the  inundations  of  the  river.  Lepsius,  "Chronol.,"  i, 
p.  262.  Linant  de  Bellefonds,  "Memoire  sur  le  lac  de  Moeris." 


84  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

remind  thee  that  I  am  not  the  only  one  who  is  acquainted  vviti* 
this  mystery." 

"Speakest  thou  of  Phanes?" 

"Of  whom- else  should  I  speak?  He  is  banished  from  Egypt 
and  from  his  own  country  and  must  leave  Naukratis  in  a  few 
days.  What  guaranty  hast  thou  that  he  will  not  betray  us  to 
the  Persians?" 

"The  friendship  and  kindness  which  I  have  always  shown 
him." 

"Dost  thou  believe  in  the  gratitude  of  men?" 

"No!  but  I  rely  on  my  own  discernment  of  character. 
Phanes  will  not  betray  us!  he  is  my  friend,  I  repeat  it!" 

"T-hy  friend,  perhaps,  but  my  mortal  enemy!" 

"Then  stand  on  thy  guard!  I  have  nothing  to  fear  from 
him." 

"For  thyself  perhaps  nought,  but  for  our  country!  O  father, 
reflect  that  though  as  thy  son  I  may  be  hateful  in  thine  eyes-, 
yet  as  Egypt's  future  king  I  ought  to  be  near  thy  heart.  Remem- 
ber, that  at  thy  death,  which  may  the  gods  long  avert!  I  shall 
represent  the  existence  of  this  glorious  land  as  thou  dost  now; 
my  fall  will  be  the  ruin  of  thine  house,  of  Egypt!" 

Amasis  became  more  and  more  serious  and  Psamtik  went 
on,  eagerly:  "Thou  knowest  that  I  am  right!  Phanes  can 
betray  our  land  to  any  foreign  enemy;  he  is  as  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  it  as  we  are,  and,  besides  this,  he  possesses  a 
secret,  the  knowledge  of  which  would  convert  our  most  pow- 
erful ally  into  a  most  formidable  enemy." 

"There  thou  art  in  error.  Though  not  mine,  Nitetis  is  a 
king's  daughter  and  will  know  how  to  win  the  love  of  her 
husband." 

"Were  she  the  daughter  of  a  god  she  could  not  save  thee 
from  Cambyses'  wrath  if  he  discovers  the  treachery;  lying  is 
to  a  Persian  the  worst  of  crimes,*  to  be  deceived  the  greatest 
disgrace;  thou  hast  deceived  the  highest  and  proudest  of  the 
nation,  and  what  can  one  inexperienced  girl  avail  when  hun- 
dreds of  women,  deeply  versed  in  intrigue  and  artifice,  are 
striving  for  the  favor  of  their  lord?" 

"Hatred  and  revenge  are  good  masters  in  the  art  of  rhetoric," 

*"Herod.,"  i,  138.  Xenoph.,  "Cyrop.,"  viii,  7,  8.  "Avesta"  (Spiegel), 
"Fargard,"  iv. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  85 

said  Amasis,  in  a  cutting  tone.  "And  think'st  thou,  then,  oh, 
foolish  son,  that  I  should  have  undertaken  such  a  dangerous 
game  without  due  consideration?  Phanes  may  tell  the  Per- 
sians what  he  likes,  he  can  never  prove  his  point.  I,  the  father, 
Ladice,  the  mother,  must  know  best  whether  Nitetis  is  our 
child  or  not.  We  call  her  so;  who  dare  aver  the  contrary? 
If  it  please  Phanes  to  betray  our  land  to  any  other  enemy  be- 
sides the  Persians,  let  him;  I  fear  nothing!  Thou  wouldst  have 
meTuin  a  man  who  has  been  my  friend,  to  whom  I  owe  much 
gratitude,  who  has  served  me  long  and  faithfully,  and  this 
without  offense  from  his  side.  Rather  will  I  shelter  him  from 
thy  revenge,  knowing  as  I  do  the  impure  source  from  which 
it  springs." 

"My  father!" 

"Thou  desirest  the  ruin  of  this  man  because  he  hindered 
thee  from  taking  forcible  possession  of  the  granddaughter  of 
Rhodopis,  and  because  thine  own  incapacity  moved  me  to 
place  him  in  thy  room  as  commander  of  the  troops.  Ah !  thou 
growest  pale!  Verily,  I  owe  Phanes  thanks  for  confiding  in 
me  your  vile  intentions,  and  so  enabling  me  to  bind  my  friends1 
and  supporters,  to  whom  Rhodopis  is  precious,  more  firmly 
to  my  throne." 

"And  is  it  thus  thou  speakest  of  these  strangers,  my  father? 
Dost  thou  thus  forget  the  ancient  glory  of  Egypt?  Despise 
me  if  thou  wilt;  I  know  thou  lovest  me  not;  but  say  not  that 
to  be  great  we  need  the  help  of  strangers!  Look  back  on  our 
history!  Were  we  not  greatest  when  our  gates  were  closed 
to  strangers,  when  we  depended  on -ourselves  and  our  own 
strength,  and  lived  according  to  the  ancient  laws  of  our  an- 
cestors and  our  gods?  Those  days  beheld  the  most  distant 
lands  subjugated  to  Rameses,*  and  heard  Egypt  celebrated  in 

*Rameses  the  Great,  son  of  Sethos,  reigned  over  Egypt  1394-1328 
B.  C.  He  was  called  Sesostris  by  the  Greeks,  see  Lepsius  ("Chron. 
d.  Aegypter.,"  p.  538)  on  the  manner  in  which  this  confusion  of  names 
arose.  Egypt  attained  the  zenith  of  her  power  under  this  king, 
whose  army,  according  to  Diodorus  (i,  53-58),  consisted  of  six  hundred 
thousand  foot  and  twenty-four  thousand  horsemen,  twenty-seven 
thousand  chariots,  and  four  hundred  ships  of  war.  With  these  hosts 
he  subdued  many  of  the  Asiatic  and  African  nations,  carving  his 
name  and  likeness  as  trophies  of  victory  on  the  rocks  of  the  conquered 
countries.  Herodotus  speaks  of  having  seen  two  of  these  inscriptions 
himself  (ii,  102-106),  and  two  are  still  to  be  found  not  far  from  Bairut, 


86  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

the  whole  world  as  its  first  and  greatest  nation.  What  are  we 
now?  The  king  himself  calls  beggars  and  foreigners  the  sup- 
porters of  his  throne,  and  devises  a  petty  stratagem  to  secure 
the  friendship  of  a  power  over  whom  we  were  victorious  before 
the  Nile  was  infested  by  these  strangers.:ic  Egypt  was  then  a 
mighty  queen  in  glorious  apparel;  she  is  now  a  painted  woman 
decked  out  in  tinsel!" 


the  ancient  Eep6r/  or  ~Rrjpvr6g.  Drawings  of  these  have  been  given 
by  Guys  and  Wyse,  and  are  also  to  be  found  in  the  "Annales  de 
1'institut  de  Corresp.  Archeol.  Rome,  1834."  It  is  probable  in  refer- 
ence to  these  pictures  and  inscriptions  that  the  Egyptian  monu- 
ments call  him,  "He  who  holds  the  world  firmly  by  means  of  the 
monuments  bearing  his  name."  Ker  ta-u  em  menn-u  hi  ran-f.  His 
conquests  brought  vast  sums  of  tribute  into  Egypt.  Tacitus  "An- 
nal.,"  ii,  60,  and  these  enabled  him  to  erect  magnificent  buildings 
in  the  whole  length  of  the  land  from  Nubia  to  Tanis,  but  more  espe- 
cially in  Thebes,  the  city  in  which  he  resided.  One  of  the  obelisks 
erected  by  Rameses  at  Heliopolis  is  now  standing  in  the  Place  de  la 
Concorde,  at  Paris,  and  has  been  lately  translated  by  F.  Chabas.  On 
the  walls  of  the  yet  remaining  palaces  and  temples,  built  under  this 
mighty  king,  we  find,  even  to  this  day,  thousands  of  pictures  repre- 
senting himself,  his  armed  hosts,  the  many  nations  subdued  by  the 
power  of  his  arms,  and  the  divinities  to  whose  favor  he  believed 
these  victories  were  owing.  Among  the  latter  Ammon  and  Bast 
seem  to  have  received  his  especial  veneration,  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  read  in  these  inscriptions  that  the  gods  were  very  willing  to 
grant  the  wishes  of  their  favorite.  A  poetical  description  of  the 
wars  he  waged  with  the  Khita  is  to  be  found  in  long  lines  of  hiero- 
glyphics on  the  south  wall  of  the  hall  of  columns  of  Rameses  II.  at 
Karnak,  also  Luxor  and  in  the  Sallier  Papyrus,  and  an  epic  poem 
referring  to  his  mighty  deeds  in  no  less  than  six  different  places. 
This  has  been  treated  by  Vicomte  E.  de  Rouge.  The  very  interesting 
treaty  of  peace  concluded  by  Rameses  with  the  Khita  has  been  pre- 
served to  us  and  translated  by  Chabas  in  the  appendix  to  his 
"Analysis  of  the  Papyrus  Anastasi  I,  Voyage  d'un  Egyptien."  The 
portrait  with  the  slightly  arched  nose,  representing  him  in  the  en- 
thusiasm of  enterprise,  is  highly  characteristic.  The  existing  mon- 
uments enable  us  to  follow  his  entire  history  and  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  every  member  of  his  family.  In  the  reign  of  Rameses 
Egyptian  art  reached  its  highest  point.  Schnaase,  "Kunstge- 
schichte,"  i,  417. 

*Josephus  (following  Manetho)  relates  that  Rameses  also  conquered 
the  Medes.  This  would  not  be  so  improbable  if  we  may  consider 
Bachtan,  where  in  the  twentieth  dynasty  we  find  one  of  the  Pharaohs 
levying  tribute,  to  be  Ekbatana.  Bachtan  was  certainly  in  Asia. 
See  the  Bentrescht  Stela  in  the  library  at  Paris.  E.  de  Roug6,  "Etude 
sur  une  Stele  Egyptienne,  etc.  Journ.  Asiat.,"  1856-1858. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  87 

"Have  a  care  what  thou  sayest!"  shouted  Amasis,  stamping 
on  the  floor.  "Egypt  was  never  so  great,  so  flourishing  as 
now!  Rameses  carried  our  arms1  into  distant  lands  and  earned 
blood;  through  my  labors  the  products  of  our  industry  have 
been  carried  to  all  parts  of  the  world  and  instead  of  blood  have 
brought  us  treasure  and  blessing.  Rameses  caused  the  blood 
and  sweat  of  his  subjects  to  flow  in  streams  for  the  honor  of 
his  own  great  name;  under  my  rule  their  blood  flows  rarely, 
and  the  sweat  of  their  brow  only  in  works1  of  usefulness.  Every 
citizen  can  now  end  his  days  in  prosperity  and  comfort.  Ten 
thousand  populous  cities  rise  on  the  shores  of  the  Nile,*  not 
a  foot  of  the  soil  lies  untilled,  every  child  enjoys  the  protection 
of  law  and  justice,  and  every  ill-doer  shuns  the  watchful 
eye  of  the  authorities. 

"In  case  of  attack  from  without  have  we  not,  as  defenders 
of  those  god-given  bttlwarks,t  our  cataracts-,  our  sea  and  our 
deserts,  the  finest  army  that  ever  bore  arms?  Thirty  thousand 
Hellenes  besides  our  entire  Egyptian  military  caste,  such  is 
the  present  condition  of  Egypt !  Rameses  purchased  the  bright 
tinsel  of  empty  fame  with  the  blood  and  tears  of  his  people. 
To  me  they  are  indebted  for  the  pure  gold  of  a  peaceful  welfare 
as  citizens — to  me  and  to  my  predecessors,  the  Saitic  kings!" 

"And  yet  I  tell  thee,"  cried  the  prince,  "that  a  worm  is 
gnawing  at  the  root  of  Egypt's  greatness  and  her  life.  This 
struggle  for  riches  and  splendor  corrupts  the1  hearts  of  the  peo- 
ple, foreign  luxury  has  given  a  deadly  blow  to  the  simple  man- 

*"Herod.,"  ii,  177.  This  information  seems  to  be  exaggerated,  as, 
according  to  Diodorus,  th'e  population  of  Egypt  at  the  time  of  the 
Ptolemies  did  not  exceed  seven  millions.  "Diod.,"  i,  31.  Josephus 
makes  it  seven  millions  five  hundred  thousand.  The  number  given 
by  Theokritus  is  nothing  more  than  a  mnemonic  play  on  the  number 
three.  Lane,  in  his  account  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
modern  Egyptians,  reckons  that  the  country  could  supply  food  for 
eight  million  inhabitants.  Champollion  le  jeune  believes  that  six 
or  seven  millions  may  be  accepted  as  the  correct  number.  In  1830  the 
population  of  Egypt  amounted  to  two  million  five  hundred  thousand 
souls,  according  to  Lane. 

fThe  science  of  fortification  was  very  fairly  understood  by 'the 
ancient  Egyptians.  Walled  and  battlemented  forts  are  to  be  seen 
depicted  on  their  monuments.  We  have  already  endeavored  to  show 
(see  our  work  on  "Egypt.,"  i,  78  and  following)  that,  on  the  northeast, 
Egypt  was  defended  from  Asiatic  invasion  by  a  line  of  forts  extending 
from  Pelusium  to  the  Red  Sea. 


88  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

ners  of  our  citizens,  and  many  an  Egyptian  has  been  taught  by 
the  Greeks  to  scoff  at  the  gods  of  his  fathers.  Every  day  brings 
news  of  bloody  strife  between  the  Greek  mercenaries  and  our 
native  soldiery,  between  our  own  people  and  the  strangers. 
The  shepherd  and  his-  flock  are  at  variance;  the  wheels  of  the 
state  machinery  are  grinding  one  another,  and  thus  the  state 
itself,  into  total  ruin.  This  once,  father,  though  never  again, 
I  must  speak  out  clearly  what  is  weighing  on  my  heart.  While 
engaged  in  contending  with  the  priests  thou  hast  seen  with 
calmness  the  young  might  of  Persia  roll  on  from  the  east,  con- 
suming the  nations  on  its  way,  and,  like  a  devouring  monster, 
growing  more  and  more  formidable  from  every  fresh  prey. 
Thine  aid  was  not,  as  thou  hadst  intended,  given  to  the  Lydians 
and  Babylonians  against  the  enemy,  but  to  the  Greeks  in  the 
building  of  temples  to  their  false  gods.  At  last  resistance 
seemed  hopeless;  a  whole  hemisphere  with  its  rulers  lay  in 
submission  at  the  feet  of  Persia;  but  even  then  the  gods  willed 
Egypt  a  chance  of  deliverance.  Cambyses  desired  thy 
daughter  in  marriage.  Thou,  however,  too  weak  to  sacrifice 
thine  own  flesh  and  blood  for  the  good  of  all,  hast  substituted 
another  maiden,  not  thine  own  child,  as  an  offering  to  the 
mighty  monarch;  and  at  the  same  time,  in  thy  soft-heartedness, 
wilt  spare  the  life  of  a  stranger  in  whose  hand  lie  the  fortunes 
of  this  realm,  and  who  will  assuredly  work  its  ruin;  unless 
indeed,  worn  out  by  internal  dissension,  it  perish  even  sooner 
from  its  own  weakness!" 

Thus  far  Amasis  had  listened  to  these  revilings  of  all  he  held 
dearest  in  silence,  though  pale  and  trembling  with  rage;  but 
now  he  broke  forth  in  a  voice  the  trumpet-like  sound  of  which 
pealed  through  the  wide  hall:  "Know'st  thou  not,  then,  thou 
boasting  and  revengeful  son  of  evil,  thou  future  destroyer  of 
this  ancient  and  glorious  kingdom — know'st  thou  not  whose 
life  must  be  the  sacrifice?  were  not  my  children  and  the  dynasty 
which  I  have  founded  dearer  to  me  than  the  welfare  of  the 
whole  realm?  Thou,  Psamtik,  thou  art  the  man,  branded  by  the 
gods,  feared  by  men — the  man  to  whose  heart  love  and  friend- 
ship are  strangers,  whose  face  is  never  seen  to  smile  nor  his 
soul  known  to  feel  compassion!  It  is  not,  however,  through 
thine  own  sin  that  thy  nature  is  thus  unblessed,  that  all  thine 
undertakings  end  unhappily.  Give  heed,  for  now  I  am  forced 
to  relate  what  I  had  hoped  long  to  keep  secret  from  thine  ears 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  89 

After  dethroning  my  predecessor,  I  forced  him  to  give  me  his 
sister  Tentcheta  in  marriage.  She  loved  me;  a  year  after 
marriage  there  was  a  promise  of  a  child.  During  the  night 
preceding  thy  birth  I  fell  asleep  at  the  bedside  of  my  wife.  I 
dreamed  that  she  was  lying  on  the  shores  of  the  Nile  and 
complained  to  me  of  pain  in  the  breast.  Bending  down  I  be- 
held a  cypress-tree  springing  from  her  heart.  It  grew  larger 
and  larger,  black  and  spreading,  twined  its  roots  around  thy 
mother  and  strangled  her.  A  cold  shiver  seized  me,  and  I 
was  on  the  point  of  flying  from  the  spot  when  a  fierce  hurricane 
came  from. the  east,  struck  the  tree  and  overthrew  it,  so  that 
its  spreading  branches  were  cast  into  the  Nile.  Then  the 
waters  ceased  to  flow;  they  congealed,  and,  in  place  of  the 
river,  a  gigantic  mummy  lay  before  me.  The  towns  on  its 
banks  dwindled  into  huge  funereal  urns,  surrounding  the  vast 
corpse  of  the  Nile  as1  in  a  tomb.  At  this  I  awoke  and  caused 
the  interpreters'  of  dreams  to  be  summoned.  None  could  ex- 
plain the  vision  till  at  last  the  priests  of  the  Libyan  -Ammon 
gave  me  the  following  interpretation:  'Tentcheta  will  die  in 
giving  birth  to  a  son.  The  cypress  which  strangled  its  mother 
is  this  gloomy,  unhappy  man.  In  his  days  a  people  shall 
come  from  the  east  and  shall  make  of  the  Nile,  that  is  of  the 
Egyptians,  dead  bodies,  and  of  their  cities  ruinous  heaps;  these 
are  the  urns  for  the  dead,  which  thou  sawest/  " 

Psamtik  listened  as  if  turned  into  stone;  his  father  continued: 
"Thy  mother  died  in  giving  birth  to  thee;  fiery-red  hair,  the 
mark  of  the  sons  of  Typhon,*  grew  around  thy  brow;  thou 

*Typhon,  in  Egyptian  Seth,  the  god  of  evil  and  misfortune,  passed 
through  a  remarkable  transformation  in  the  religious  consciousness 
of  the  Egyptians.  In  the  earliest  ages  of  their  history  he  was  not 
regarded  as  a  destructive  deity.  Mariette  proves  that  he  was  wor- 
shiped at  Memphis  from  the  fifth  dynasty.  His  first  appearance  as 
a  deity  of  destruction  seems  to  have  been  in  the  time  of  the  Hyksos, 
who  worshiped  him  exclusively.  Before  this  the  principle  of  evil 
had  been  personified  by  the  serpent  Appe,  and  Seth  had  been  wor- 
shiped as  the  god  of  war  and  of  foreign  countries.  If  their  foes  were 
worsted  in  battle  the  Egyptians  glorified  this  deity,  but  despised  and 
maltreated  him  if  the  contrary  were  the  case.  Rameses  took  pleasure 
in  calling  himself  a  worshiper  of  Seth;  but  succeeding  monarchs 
erased  his  name  wherever  they  found  it,  and  at  last  the  god  was  uni- 
versally detested  as  the  principle  of  destruction.  According  to  Plu- 
tarch he  had  dominion  over  all  the  passionate,  ill-regulated,  un- 
steadfast,  false  and  foolish  feelings  in  the  souls  of  men.  In  one 


90  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

becam'st  a  gloomy  man.  Misfortune  pursued  thee  and  robbed 
thee  of  a  beloved  wife  and  four  of  thy  children.  The  astrol- 
ogers computed  that  even  as  I  had  been  born  under  the  fortu- 
nate sign  of  Ammon,  so  thy  birth  had  been  watched  over  by 
the  rise  of  the  awful  planet  Seb.*  Thou —  But  here 

Amasis  broke  off,  for  Psamtik,  in  the  anguish  produced  by 
these  fearful  disclosures,  had  given  way,  and,  with  sobs  and 
groans,  cried: 

"Cease,  cruel  father!  spare  me  at  least  the  bitter  words  that 
I  am  the  only  son  in  Egypt  who  is  hated  by  his  father  without 
cause !" 

Amasis  looked  down  on  the  wretched  man  who  had  sunk  to 
the  earth  before  him,  his  face  hidden  in  the  folds  of  his  robe, 
and  the  father's  wrath  was  changed  to  compassion. 

He  thought  of  Psamtik's  mother,  dead  forty  years  before, 
and  felt  he  had  been  cruel  in  inflicting  this  poisonous  wound 

Papyrus  he  is  called  "the  omnipotent  destroyer  and  devastator." 
Lepsius,  "erster  Gotterkreis,"  p.  53.  The  destroying  forces  of  nature 
were  reflected  in  his  being.  All  noxious  plants  and  destructive 
animals  were  his  property,  and  the  capricious  and  unfruitful  sea 
formed  a  part  of  his  dominions.  His  favorite  animals  were  the  stub- 
born ass,  the  disgusting  hippopotamus,  the  voracious  crocodile  and 
the  wild  boar.  Red  was  his  distinctive  color,  in  consequence  of  which 
people  with  red  hair  were  called  Typhonian,  and  are  said  to  have  been 
offered  in  sacrifice  to  this  deity.  "Diod.,"  88.  Plutarch  gives  the 
same  account.  But  these  human  sacrifices  had  already  ceased  to  be 
practiced  at  a  very  early  period,  though  red-headed  Egyptians  con- 
tinued to  be  held  in  contempt,  and  were  often  pelted  with  mud  much 
later.  The  pictures  of  the  god  represent  him  as  deformed,  having  a 
back  covered  with  bristles  and  the  head  of  a  crocodile,  an  ass  or 
hippopotamus.  In  the  myth  of  Isis  and  Osiris  we  find  Seth-Typhon 
again. 

*The  Egyptian  astrologers  had  a  world-wide  renown.  "Herodotus" 
(ii,  82)  says  that  they  were  the  inventors  of  astrology,  and  Aristoteles 
(de  coelo,  ii,  12)  that  they  were  the  first  astronomers.  Each  hour, 
with  them,  had  its  respective  planets  boding  good  fortune  or  the  re- 
verse; horoscopes  drawn  from  the  position  of  the  stars  determined 
these  predictions.  Ammon  (Jupiter)  was  invariably  a  fortunate  star, 
Seb  (Saturn)  unpropitious,  Thoth  (Mercury)  fluctuating.  It  was  also 
believed  that  even  a  single  limb  could  be  affected  by  certain  stars. 
"Champollion  letters,"  p.  239.  "Fermicus  Maternus,"  iv,  16,  even 
mentions  the  names  of  two  celebrated  Egyptian  astrologers,  Petosiris 
and  Nechepso.  See  also  "Diodorus,"  i,  50,  81,  ii,  92.  The  monuments 
abound  in  astronomical  representations,  and  the  calendars  of  their 
festivals  which  have  come  down  to  us  confirm  the  reports  of  classical 
writers  as  to  the  progress  of  astronomy  in  Egypt. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  91 

on  her  son's  soul.  It  was  the  first  time  for  years  that  he  had 
been  able  to  feel  toward  this  cold,  strange  man  as  a  father  and 
a  comforter.  For  the  first  time  he  saw  tears  in  the  cold  eyes 
of  his  son,  and  could  feel  the  joy  of  wiping  them  away.  He 
seized  the  opportunity  at  once,  and,  bending  down  over  the 
groaning  form,  kissed  his  forehead,  raised  him  from  the  ground, 
and  said,  gently: 

"Forgive  my  anger,  my  son!  the  words  that  have  grieved 
thee  came  not  from  my  heart,  but  were  spoken  in  haste  of  wrath. 
Many  years  hast  thou  angered  me  by  thy  coldness,  hardness, 
and  obstinacy;  to-day  thou  hast  wounded  me  again  in  my  most 
sacred  feelings-;  this  hurried  me  into  an  excess  of  wrath.  But 
now  all  is  right  between  us.  Our  natures  are  so  diverse  that 
our  innermost  feelings  will  never  be  one,  but  at  least  we  can 
act  in  concert  for  the  future  and  show  forbearance  one  toward 
the  other." 

In  silence  Psamtik  bowed  down  and  kissed  his  father's  robe. 
"Not  so!"  exclaimed  the  latter;  "rather  let  my  lips  receive  thy 
kiss,  as-  is  meet  and  fitting  between  father  and  son!  Thou 
needest  not  to  think  again  of  the  evil  dream  I  have  related. 
Dreams  are  phantoms,  and  even  if  sent  by  the  gods  the  inter- 
preters thereof  are  human  and  erring.  Thy  hand  trembles 
still,  thy  cheeks  are  white  as  thy  robe.  I  was  hard  toward  thee, 
harder  than  a  father." 

"Harder  than  a  stranger  to  strangers,"  interrupted  his  son. 
"Thou  hast  crushed  and  broken  me,  and  if  till  now  my  face 
has  seldom  worn  a  smile,  from  this  day  forward  it  can  be 
naught  but  a  mirror  of  my  inward  misery." 

"Not  so,"  said  Amasis,  laying  his  hand  on  his  son's  shoulder. 
"If  I  wound,  I  can  also  heal.  Tell  me  the  dearest  wish  of  thy 
heart;  it  shall  be  granted  thee!" 

Psamtik's  eyes  flashed,  his  sallow  cheeks  glowed  for  a 
moment,  and  he  answered  without  consideration,  though  in  a 
voice  still  trembling  from  the  shock  he  had  just  received: 
"Deliver  Phanes,  my  enemy,  into  my  power!" 

The  king  remained  a  few  moments  in  deep  thought,  then 
answered:  "I  knew  what  thou  woulclst  ask,  and  will  fulfill 
thy  desire ;  but  I  would  rather  thou  hadst  asked  the  half  of  my 
treasures.  A  thousand  voices  within  warn  me  that  I  am 
about  to  do  an  unworthy  and  a  ruinous  deed — ruinous  for  my- 
self, for  thee,  the  kingdom  and  our  house.  Reflect  before 


92  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

acting,  and  remember,  whatever  thou  mayst  meditate  against 
Phanes,  not  a  hair  of  Rhodopis'  head  shall  be  touched.  Also, 
that  the  persecution  of  my  poor  friend  is  to  remain  a  s-ecret 
from  the  Greeks.  Where  shall  I  find  his  equal  as  a  com- 
mander, an  adviser  and  a  companion?  He  is  not  yet  in  thy 
power,  however,  and  I  advise  thee  to  remember  that,  though 
thou  mayst  be  clever  for  an  Egyptian,  Phanes  is  a  clever 
Greek.  I  will  remind  thee,  too,  of  thy  solemn  oath  to  renounce 
the  grandchild  of  Rhodopis.  Methinks  vengeance  is  dearer 
,  to  thee  than  love,  and  the  amends-  I  offer  will,  therefore,  be 
acceptable!  As  to  Egypt,  I  repeat  once  more,  she  was  never 
more  flourishing  than  now;  a  fact  which  none  dream  of  dis- 
puting, except  the  priests  and  those  who  retail  their  foolish 
words.  And  now  give  ear,  if  thou  wouldst  know  the  origin 
of  Nitetis.  Self-interest  will  enjoin  secrecy." 

Psamtik  listened  eagerly  to  his-  father's  communication,  in- 
dicating his  gratitude  at  the  conclusion  by  a  warm  pressure  of 
the  hand. 

"Now,  farewell,"  said  Amasis.  "Forget  not  my  words,  and 
above  all,  shed  no  blood!  I  will  know  nothing  of  what  hap- 
pens to  Phanes,  for  I  hate  cruelty  and  would  not  be  forced  to 
stand  in  horror  of  my  own  son.  But  thou,  thou  rejoicest! 
My  poor  Athenian,  better  were  it  for  thee  hadst  thou  never 
entered  Egypt!" 

Long  after  Psamtik  had  left,  his  father  continued  to  pace  the 
hall  in  deep  thought.  He  was  sorry  he  had  yielded;  it 
already  seemed  as  if  he  saw  the  bleeding  Phanes  lying  mas- 
sacred by  the  side  of  the  dethroned  Hcphra.  "It  is  true,  he 
could  have  worked  our  ruin,"  was  the  plea  he  offered  to  the 
accuser  within  his  own  breast,  and  with  these  words,  he  raised 
his  head,  called  his  s-ervants  and  left  the  apartment  with  a 
smiling  countenance. 

Had  this  sanguine  man,  this  favorite  of  fortune,  thus  speedily 
quieted  the  warning  voice  within,  or  was  he  strong  enough  to 
cloak  his  torture  with  a  smile? 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  33 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Psamtik  went  at  once  from  his  father's  apartments  to  the 
temple  of  the  goddess  Neith.  At  the  entrance  he  asked  for 
the  high-priest  and  was  begged  by  one  of  the  inferior  priests 
to  wait,  as  the  great  Neithotep  was  at  that  moment  praying  in 
the  holiest  sanctuary*  of  the  exalted  queen  of  heaven. 

After  a  short  time  a  young  priest  appeared  with  the  intelli- 
gence that  his  superior  awaited  the  prince's  visit. 

Psamtik  had  seated  himself  under  the  shadow  of  the  sacred 
grove  of  silver  poplars,  bordering  the  shores  of  the  consecrated 
lake,f  holy  to  the  great  Neith.  »  He  rose  immediately,  crossed 
the  temple  court,  paved  with  stone  and  asphalt,  on  which  the 
sun's  rays  were  darting  like  fiery  arrows,  and  turned  into  one 
of  the  long  avenues  of  Sphinxes  which  led  to  the  isolated 
Pylonsij:  before  the  gigantic  temple  of  the  goddess.  He  then 
passed  through  the  principal  gate,  ornamented,  as  were  all 
Egyptian  temple-entrances,  with  the  winged  sun's  disk. 
Above  its  widely  opened  folding-doors  arose  on  either  side 

*The  temples  of  Egypt  were  so  constructed  as  to  intensify  the  devo- 
tion of  the  worshiper  by  conducting  him  onward  through  a  series  of 
halls  or  chambers  gradually  diminishing  in  size.  "The  way  through 
these  temples  is  clearly  indicated,  no  digression  is  allowed,  no  error 
possible.  We  wander  on  through  the  huge  and  massive  gates  of 
entrance,  between  the  ranks  of  sacred  animals.  The  worshiper  is 
received  into  an  ample  court,  but  by  degrees  the  walls  on  either  side 
approach  one  another,  the  halls  become  less  lofty,  all  is  gradually 
tending  toward  one  point.  And  thus  we  wander  on,  the  sights  and 
sounds  of  God's  world  without  attract  us  no  longer,  we  see  nothing 
but  the  sacred  representation  which  encompass  us  so  closely,  feel  only 
the  solemnity  of  the  temple  in  which  we  stand.  And  the  consecrated 
walls  embrace  us  ever  more  and  more  closely,  until  at  last  we  reach 
the  lonely,  resonant  chamber  occupied  by  the  divinity  himself,  and 
entered  by  no  human  being  save  his  priest."  Schnaase,  "Kunst- 
geschichte,"  i,  394. 

fThis  lake  exists  still  near  the  ruins  of  Sais.  "Herod.,"  ii,  170. 
"Wilkinson,"  iv,  192,  ii,  509.  Map  in  the  "Description  de  1'Egypte.'' 
Lepsius,  "Denkmaler.  Abth.,"  i,  pi.  55  and  56. 

JThe  isolated  gateways  with  slanting  piers  or  side-walls,  which  led 
to  the  Egyptian  temples,  and  which  perhaps  obtained  for  Homer's 
Phebes  the  name,  "city  of  a  hundred  gates." 


94  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

tower-like  buildings,  slender  obelisks  and  waving  flags.  The 
front  of  the  temple,  rising  from  the  earth  in  the  form  of  an 
obtuse  angle,  had  somewhat  the  appearance  of  a  fortress,  and 
was  covered  with  colored  pictures-  and  inscriptions.  Through 
the  porch  Psamtik  passed  on  into  a  lofty  entrance-chamber, 
and  from  thence  into  the  great  hall  itself,  the  ceiling  of  which 
was  strewn  with  thousands  of  golden  stars,  and  supported  by 
four  rows  of  lofty  pillars.  Their  capitals  were  carved  in  imita- 
tion of  the  lotus-flower,  and  these,  the  shafts  of  the  columns, 
the  walls  of  this  huge  hall  and  indeed  every  niche  and  corner 
that  met  the  eye  were  covered  with  brilliant  colors  and  hiero- 
glyphics. The  columns  rose  to  a  gigantic  height,  the  eyes 
seemed  to  wander  through  immeasurable  space,  and  the  air 
breathed  by  the  worshipers  was  heavy  with  the  fragrance  of 
Kyphi  and  incense  and  the  odors  which  aros-e  from  the  labora- 
tory attached  to  the  temple.  Strains  of  soft  music,  proceeding 
from  invisible  hands,  flowed  on  unceasingly,  only  occasionally 
interrupted  by  the  deep  lowing  of  the  sacred  cows  of  Isis,  or  the 
shrill  call  of  the  sparrow-hawk  of  Horus,  whose  habitations 
were  in  one  of  the  adjoining  halls.  No  sooner  did  the  pro- 
longed low  of  a  cow  break  like  distant  thunder  on  the  ear,  or 
the  sharp  cry  of  the  sparrow-hawk  shoot  like  a  flash  of  light- 
ning through  the  nerves  of  the  worshipers,  than  each  crouch- 
ing form  bent  lower  still  and  touched  the  pavement  with  his 
forehead.  On  a  portion  of  this  pavement,  raised  above  the 
rest,  stood  the  priests,  some  wearing  ostrich  feathers  on  their 
bald  and  shining  heads;  others  panther  skins  over  their  white- 
robed  shoulders.  Muttering  and  singing,  bowing  low  and 
rising  again,  they  swung  the  censers  and  poured  libations-  of 
pure  water  to  the  gods  out  of  golden  ves-sels.  In  this  immense 
temple  man  seemed  a  dwarf  in  his  own  eyes.  All  his  senses, 
even  to  the  organs  of  respiration,  were  occupied  by  objects  far 
removed  from  daily  life,  objects  that  thrilled  and  almost  op- 
pressed him.  Snatched  from  all  that  was  familiar  in  his  daily 
existence,  he  seemed  to  grow  dizzy  and  seek  support  beyond 
himself.  To  this  the  voice  of  the  priests  directed  him  and  the 
cries  of  the  sacred  animals  were  believed  to  prove  a  divinity 
at  hand. 

Psamtik  assumed  the  posture  of  a  worshiper  on  the  low, 
gilded  and  cushioned  couch  set  apart  for  him,  but  was  unable 
to  pay  any  real  devotion,  and  passed  on  to  the  adjoining 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  35 

apartment  before  mentioned,  where  the  sacred  cows  of  Isis- 
Neith  and  the  sparrow-hawk  of  Horus  were  kept.  These 
creatures  were  concealed  from  the  gaze  of  the  worshipers  by  a 
curtain  of  rich  fabric  embroidered  with  gold;  the  people  were 
only  allowed  an  occasional  and  distant  glimpse  of  the  adorable 
animals.  When  Psamtik  passed  they  were  just  being  fed; 
cakes  soaked  in  milk,  salt  and  clover-blossoms  were  placed 
in  golden  cribs  for  the  cows,  and  small  birds  of  many-colored 
plumage  in  the  beautifully  wrought  and  ornamented  cage  of 
the  sparrow-hawk.  But,  in  his  present  mood,  the  heir  to  the 
throne  of  Egypt  had  no  eye  for  these  rare  sights,  but  ascended 
at  once,  by  means  of  a  hidden  staircase,  to  the  chambers  lying 
near  the  observatory,  where  the  high-priest  was  accustomed 
to  repose  after  the  temple-service. 

Neithotep,  a  man  of  seventy  years,  was  seated  in  a  splendid 
apartment.  Rich  Babylonian  carpets  covered  the  floor,  and 
his  chair  was  of  gold,  cushioned  with  purple.  A  tastefully 
carved  footstool  supported  his  feet,  his  hand  held  a  roll  covered 
with  hieroglyphics,  and  a  boy  stood  behind  him  with  a  fan  of 
ostrich-feathers  to  keep  away  the  insects. 

The  face  of  the  old  man  was  deeply  lined  now,  but  it  might 
once  have  been  handsome,  and  in  the  large  blue  eyes  there 
still  lay  evidence  of  a  quick  intellect  and  a  dignified  self-respect. 

His1  artificial  curls  had  been  laid  aside,  and  the  bald,  smooth 
head  formed  a  strange  contrast  to  the  furrowed  countenance, 
giving  an  appearance  of  unusual  height  to  the  forehead,  gen- 
erally so  very  low  among  the  Egyptians.  The  brightly  colored 
walls  of  the  room,  on  which  numerous  sentences  in  hiero- 
glyphic characters  were  painted,  the  different  statues  of  the 
goddess  painted  likewise  in  gay  colors,  and  the  snow-white 
garments  of  the  aged  priest  were  calculated  to  fill  a  stranger 
not  only  with  wonder,  but  with  a  species  of  awe. 

The  old  man  received  the  prince  with  much  affection,  and 
asked: 

"What  brings  my  illustrious  son  to  the  poor  servant  of  the 
deity?" 

"I  have  much  to  report  to  thee,  my  father,"  answered  Psam- 
tik, with  a  triumphant  smile,  "for  I  come  in  this  moment  from 
Amasis." 

"Then  he  has  at  length  granted  thee  an  audience?" 

"At  length!" 


96  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"Thy  countenance  tells  me  that  thou  hast  been  favorably 
received  by  our  lord,  thy  father." 

"After  having  first  experienced  his  wrath.  For,  when  I  laid 
before  him  the  petition  with  which  thou  hadst  intrusted  me, 
he  was  exceedingly  wroth  and  nearly  crushed  me  by  his  awful 
words." 

"Thou  hadst  surely  grieved  him  by  thy  language.  Didst 
thou  approach  him  as  I  advised  thee,  with  lowliness,  as  a  son 
humbly  beseeching  his  father?" 

"No,  my  father;  I  was  irritated  and  indignant." 

"Then  was  Amasis  right  to  be  wrathful,  for  never  should 
a  son  meet  his  father  in  anger;  still  less  when  he  hath  a  request 
to  bring  before  him.  Thou  know'st  the  promise,  'The  days  of 
him  that  honoreth  his  father  shall  be  many.'*  In  this  one 
thing,  my  scholar,  thou  errest  always ;  to  gain  thine  ends  thou 
usest  violence  and  roughness  where  good  and  gentle  words 
would  more  surely  prevail.  A  kind  word  hath  far  more  power 
than  an  angry  one,  and  much  may  depend  on  the  way  in  which 
a  man  ordereth  his  speech.  Hearken  to  that  which  I  will  now 
relate:  In  former  years  there  was  a  king  in  Egypt  named 
Snefru,  who  ruled  in  Memphis.  And  it  came  to  pass  that  he 
dreamed,  and  in  his  dream  his  teeth  fell  out  of  his  mouth.  And 
he  sent  for  the  soothsayers  and  told  them  the  dream.  The  first 
interpreter  answered:  'Woe  unto  thee,  O  king!  all  thy  kins-- 
men shall  die  before  thee!'  Then  was  Snefru  wroth,  caused 
this  messenger  of  evil  to  be  scourged  and  sent  for  a  second 
interpreter.  He  answered:  'O  king,  live  forever;  thy  life 
shall  be  longer  than  the  life  of  thy  kinsmen  and  the  men  of  thy 
house!'  Then  the  king  smiled  and  gave  presents  unto  this 
interpreter,  for  though  the  interpretations  were  one,  yet  he  had 
understood  to  clothe  his  message  in  a  web  of  fair  and  pleasant 
words.  Apprehendest  thou?  Then  hearken  to  my  voice  and 
refrain  from  harsh  words,  remembering  that  to  the  ear  of  a 
ruler  the  manner  of  a  man's  speech  is  weightier  than  its 
matter." 

"Oh,  my  father,  how  often  hast  thou  thus  admonished  me! 
How  often  have  I  been  convinced  of  the  evil  consequences  of 

"This  Egyptian  command  bears  a  remarkable  resemblance  to  the 
fifth  in  the  Hebrew  decalogue,  both  having  a  promise  annexed.  It 
occurs  in  the  Prisse  Papyrus,  the  most  ancient  sacred  writing  extant. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  97 

my  rough  words  and  angry  gestures!     But  I  cannot  change 
my  nature,  I  cannot " 

"Say,  rather,  I  will  not;  for  he  that  is  indeed  a  man  dare 
never  again  commit  those  sins'  of  which  he  has  once  repented. 
But  I  have  admonished  sufficiently.  Tell  me,  now,  how  thou 
didst  calm  the  wrath  of  Amasis?" 

"Thou  knowest  my  father.  When  he  saw  that  he  had 
wounded  me  in  the  depths  of  my  soul  by  his  awful  words  he 
repented  him  of  his  anger.  He  felt  that  he  been  too  hard  and 
desired  to  make  amends  at  any  price." 

"He  hath  a  kindly  heart,  but  his  mind  is  blinded  and  his 
senses  taken  captive,"  cried  the  priest.  "What  might  not 
Amasis  do  for  Egypt  would  he  but  hearken  to  our  counsel  and 
to  the  commandments  of  the  gods!" 

"But  hear  me,  my  father.  In  his  emotion  he  granted  me 
the  life  of  Phanes !"  " 

"Thine  eyes  flash,  Psamtik!  That  pleaseth  me  not.  The 
Athenian  must  die,  for  he  has  offended  the  gods;  but  though 
he  that  condemns  must  let  justice  have  her  way,  he  should  have 
no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  condemned;  rather  should  he 
mourn.  Now  speak;  didst  thou  obtain  aught  further?" 

"The  king  declared  unto  me  to  what  house  Nitetis  belongs." 

"And  further  naught?" 

"No,  my  father;  but  art  thou  not  eager  to  learn " 

"Curiosity  is  a  woman's  vice;  moreover,  I  have  long  known 
all  that  thou  canst  tell  me." 

"But  didst  thou  nof  charge  me  but  yesterday  to  ask  my 
father  this  question?" 

"I  did  so  to  prove  thee,  and  know  whether  thou  wert  re- 
signed to  the  divine  will  and  wert  walking  in  those  ways 
wherein  alone  thou  canst  become  worthy  of  initiation  into  the 
highest  grade  of  knowledge.  Thou  hast  told  us  faithfully  all 
that  thou  hast  heard  and  thereby  proved  that  thou  canst  obey 
— the  first  virtue  of  a  priest." 

"Thou  knewest  then  the  father  of  Nitetis?" 

"I  myself  pronounced  the  prayer  over  King  Hophra's 
tomb." 

"But  who  imparted  the  secret  to  thee?" 

"The  eternal  stars,  my  son,  and  my  skill  in  reading  them." 

"And  do  these  stars  never  deceive?" 

"Never  him  who  truly  understands  them." 


98  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

Psamtik  turned  pale.  His  father's  dream  and  his  own  fear- 
ful horoscope  passed  like  awful  visions  through  his  mind. 
The  priest  detected  at  once  the  change  in  his  features  and  said, 
gently:  "Thou  deem'st  thyself  a  lost  man  because  the  heavens 
prognosticated  evil  at  thy  birth;  but  take  comfort,  Psamtik; 
I  observed  another  sign  in  the  heavens  at  that  moment,  which 
escaped  the  notice  of  the  astrologers.  Thy  horoscope  was  a 
threatening,  a  very  threatening  one,  but  Its  omens  may  be 
averted,  they  may " 

"Oh,  tell  me,  father,  tell  me  how!" 

"They  must  turn  to  good,  if  thou,  forgetful  of  all  else,  canst 
live  alone  to  the  gods,  paying  a  ready  obedience  to  the  Divine 
voice  audible  to  us,  their  priests,  alone  in  the  innermost  and 
holiest  sanctuary." 

"Father,  I  am  ready  to  obey  thy  slightest  word." 

"The  great  goddess  Neith,  who  rules  in  Sais,  grant  this,  my 
son!"  answered  the  priest,  solemnly.  "But  now  leave  me 
alone,"  he  continued,  kindly;  "lengthened  devotions  and  the 
weight  of  years  bring  weariness.  If  possible,  delay  the  death 
of  Phanes;  I  wish  to  speak  with  him  before  he  dies.  Yet  one 
more  word.  A  troop  of  Ethiopians  arrived  yesterday.  These 
men  cannot  speak  a  word  of  Greek  and  under  a  faithful  leader, 
acquainted  with  the  Athenians  and  the  locality,  they  would  be 
the  best  agents  for  getting  rid  of  the  doomed  man,  as  their 
ignorance  of  the  language  and  the  circumstances  render 
treachery  or  gossip  impossible.  Before  starting  for  Naukratis 
they  must  know  nothing  of  the  design  of  their  journey;  the 
deed  once  accomplished  we  can  send  them  back  to  Kush.* 
Remember,  a  secret  can  never  be  too  carefully  kept!  I'are- 
well." 

Psamtik  had  only  left  the  room  a  few  moments-,  when  a 
young  priest  entered,  one  of  the  king's  attendants. 

"Have  I  listened  well,  father?"  he  inquired  of  the  old  man. 

"Perfectly,  my  son.  Nothing  of  that  which  passed  between 
Amasis  and  Psamtik  has  escaped  thine  ears.  May  Isisf  pre- 
serve them  long  to  thee!" 

*The  Egyptian  name  for  Ethiopia. 

tlsis,  the  wife  or  sister  of  Osiris,  is  the  phenomena  of  nature,  by 
means  of  which  the  god  is  able  to  reveal  himself  to  human  contem- 
plation. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  99 

"Ah,  father,  a  deaf  man  could  have  heard  every  word  in  the 
ante-chamber  to-day,  for  Amasis  bellowed  like  an  ox." 

"The  great  Neith  has  smitten  him  with  the  lack  of  prudence. 
But  now  return,  keep  thine  eyes  open  and  inform  me  at  once  if 
Amasis,  as  is  possible,  should  attempt  to  thwart  the  conspiracy 
against  Phanes.  Thou  wilt  certainly  find  me  here.  Charge 
the  attendants  to  admit  no  one,  and  to  say  I  am  at  my  devotions 
in  the  holy  of  the  holies.  May  the  ineffable  One  protect  thy 
footsteps !" 


While  Psamtik  was  making  every  preparation  for  the  cap- 
ture of  Phanes:,  Croesus,  accompanied  by  his  followers,  had 
embarked  on  board  a  royal  bark,  and  was  on  his  way  down 
the  Nile  to  spena  the  evening  with  Rhodopis. 

His  son  Gyges  and  the  three  young  Persians  remained  in 
Sais,  passing  the  time  in  a  manner  most  agreeable  to  them. 

Amasis  loaded  them  with  civilities,  allowed. them,  accord- 
ing to  Egyptian  custom,  the  society  of  his  queen  and  of  the  twin 
sisters,  as  they  were  called;  taught  Gyges  the  game  of 
draughts,*  and  looking  on  while  the  strong,  dexterous  young 
heroes  joined  his  daughters  in  the  game  of  throwing  balls  and 
hoops,  so  popular  among  Egyptian  maidens, f  enlivened  their 
amusements  with  an  inexhaustible  flow  of  wit  and  humor. 

"Really,"  said  Bartja,  as-  he  watched  Nitetis  catching  the 
slight  hoop  ornamented  with  gay  ribbons  for  the  hundredth 
time  on  her  slender  ivory  rod,  "we  must  introduce  this  game 
at  home.  We  Persians  are  so  different  from  you  Egyptians. 
Everything  new  has  a  special  charm  for  us,  while  to  you  it  is 

*The  Pharaohs  themselves,  as  well  as  their  subjects,  were  in  the 
habit  of  playing  at  draughts  and  other  similar  games.  Rosellini 
gives  us  Rameses  playing  with  his  daughter;  see  also  two  Egyptians 
playing  together,  "Wilkinson,"  ii,  419,  V.  Minutoli,  "Gesellchaftliche 
Spiele  bei  den  Alten  Aegyptern."  "Leipziger  Illustrirte  Zeitung." 
An  especially  beautiful  draught  board  exists  in  the  Egyptian  collec- 
tion at  the  Louvre  Museum. 

tV  Minutoli,  "Gesellschaftliche  Spiele."  "Wilkinson,"  ii,  429. 
Rosellini,  "Mon.  Civ.,"  pi.  100  and  101.  Balls  that  have  been  found 
in  the  tombs  are  still  to  be  seen;  some,  for  instance,  in  the  museum 
at  Leyden. 


100      '  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

just  as  hateful.  I  shall  describe  the  game  to  our  mother,  Kas- 
sandane,  and  she  will  be  delighted  to  allow  my  brothers'  wives 
this  new  amusement." 

"Yes,  do,  do!"  exclaimed  the  fair  Tachot,  blushing  deeply. 
"Then  Nitetis  can  play,  too,  and  fancy  herself  back  again  at 
home  and  among  those  she  loves;  and  Bartja,"  she  added,  in 
a  low  voice,  "whenever  you  watch  the  hoops  flying  you,  too, 
must  remember  this  hour." 

"I  shall  never  forget  it,"  answered  he,  with  a  smile,  and 
then,  turning  to  his  future  sister-in-law,  he  called  out  cheer- 
fully: "Be  of  good  courage,  Nitetis-;  you  will  be  happier  than 
you  fancy  with  us.  We  Asiatics  know  how  to  honor  beauty; 
and  prove  it  by  taking  many  wives." 

Nitetis  sighed,  and  the  queen  Ladice  exclaimed:  "On  the 
contrary,  that  very  fact  proves  that  you  understand  but  poorly 
how  to  appreciate  woman's  nature!  You  can  have  no  idea, 
Bartja,  what  a  woman  feels  on  finding  that  her  husband — the 
man  who  to  her  is  more  than  life  itself,  and  to  whom  she  would 
gladly  and  without  reserve  give  up  all  that  she  treasures  as 
most  sacred — looks  down  on  her  with  the  same  kind  of  admira- 
tion that  he  bestows  on  a  pretty  toy,  a  noble  steed,  or  a  well- 
wrought  wine-bowl.  But  it  is  yet  a  thousandfold  more  pain- 
ful to  feel  that  the  love  which  every  woman  has  a  right  to 
possess  for  herself  alone  must  be  shared  with  a  hundred 
others !" 

"There  speaks  the  jealous  wife!"  exclaimed  Amasis. 
"Would  you  not  fancy  that  I  had  often  given  her  occasion  to 
doubt  my  faithfulness?" 

"No,  no,  my  husband,"  answered  Ladice ;  "in  this  point  the 
Egyptian  men  surpass  other  nations,  that  they  remain  con- 
tent with  that  which  they  have  once  loved;  indeed,  I  venture 
to  assert  that  an  Egyptian  wife  is  the  happiest  of  women.* 

*  According  to  Diodorus  the  queen  of  Egypt  held  a  higher  position 
than  the  king  himself.  The  monuments  and  lists  of  names  certainly 
prove  that  women  could  reign  with  sovereign  power.  We  notice  also 
that  sons,  in  speaking  of  their  descent,  quite  as  often  reckon  it  from 
the  mother's  as  from  the  father's  side,  that  a  married  woman  is  con- 
stantly alluded  to  as  the  "mistress,"  the  "lady"  of  the  house;  in 
short,  that  the  weaker  sex  seems  to  have  enjoyed  equal  rights  with 
the  stronger.  We  learn,  too,  from  the  inscriptions,  that  pretenders 
to  the  crown  were  often  anxious  to  secure  the  hand  of  a  princess 
belonging  to  a  legitimate  dynasty. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  101 

Even  the  Greeks,  who  in  so  many  things  may  serve  as  patterns1 
to  us,  do  not  know  how  to  appreciate  woman  rightly.  Most  of 
the  young  Greek  girls  pass  their  sad  childhood  in  close  rooms, 
kept  to  the  wheel  and  the  loom  by  their  mothers  and  those  who 
have  charge  of  them,  and,  when  marriageable,  are  transferred 
to  the  quiet  house  of  a  husband  they  do  not  know,  and  whose 
work  in  life  and  in  the  state  allows  him  but  seldom  to  visit 
his  wife's  apartments.  Only  when  the  most  intimate  friends 
and  nearest  relations  are  with  her  husband  does  she  venture  to 
appear  in  their  midst,  and  then  shyly  and  timidly,  hoping  to 
hear  a  little  of  what  is  going  on  in  the  great  world  outside.  Ah, 
indeed!  we  women  thirst  for  knowledge,  too,  and  there  are  cer- 
tain branches  of  learning  at  least  which  it  cannot  be  right  to 
withhold  from  those  who  are  to  be  the  mothers  and  educators 
of  the  next  generation.  What  can  an  Attic  mother,  without 
knowledge,  without  experience,  give  to  her  daughters? 
Naught  but  her  own  ignorance;  and  so  it  is,  that  a  Hellene, 
seldom  satisfied  with  the  society  of  his  lawful  but  mentally 
inferior  wife,  turns  for  satisfaction  to  those  courtesans,  who, 
from  their  constant  intercourse  with  men,  have  acquired  knowl- 
edge, and  well  understand  how  to  adorn  it  with  the  flowers 
of  feminine  grace,  and  to  season  it  with  the  salt  of  a  woman's 
more  refined  and  delicate  wit."  In  Egypt  it  is  different.  A 
young  girl  is  allowed  to  associate  freely  with  the  most  en- 
lightened men.  Youths  and  maidens  meet  constantly  on  fes- 
tive occasions,  learn  to  know  and  to  love  one  another.  The 
wife  is  not  the  slave,  but  the  friend  of  her  husband;  the  one 
supplies  the  deficiencies  of  the  other.  In  weighty  questions 
the  stronger  decides,  but  the  lesser  cares  of  life  are  left  to  her 
who  is  the  greater  in  small  things.  The  daughters  grow  up 
under  careful  guidance,  for  the  mother  is  neither  ignorant 
nor  inexperienced.  To  be  virtuous  and  diligent  in  her  affairs 
becomes  easy  to  a  woman,  for  she  sees  that  it  increases  his 
happiness  whose  dearest  possession  she  boasts  of  being,  and 
who  belongs  to  her  alone.  We  women  only  do  that  which 
pleas-es  us!  but  the  Egyptian  men  understand  the  art  of  making 
us  pleased  with  that  which  is  really  good,  and  with  that  alone. 
On  the  shores  of  the  Nile  Phocylides,  of  Miletus,  and  Hip- 
ponax,  of  Ephesus,  would  never  have  dared  to  sing  their  libels 

*See  note  p.  7. 


102  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

on  women,  nor  could  the  fable  of  Pandora*  have  been  possibly 
invented  here!'' 

"How  beautifully  you  speak!"  exclaimed  Bartja.  "Greek 
was  not  easy  to  learn,  but  I  am  very  glad  now  that  I  did  not 
give  it  up  in  despair,  and  really  paid  attention  to  Croesus' 
lessons." 

"Who  could  those  men  have  been,"  asked  Darius,  "who  dared 
to  speak  evil  of  women?" 

"A  couple  of  Greek  poets,"  answered  Amasis,  "the  boldest 
of  men,  for  I  confess  I  would  rather  provoke  a  lioness  than  a 
woman.  But  these  Greeks  do  not  know  what  fear  is.  I  will 
give  you  a  specimen  of  Hipponax's  poetry: 

"  'There  are  but  two  days  when  a  wife 
Brings  pleasure  to  her  husband's  life: 
The  wedding-day,  when  hopes  are  bright, 
And  the  day  he  buries  her  out  of  his  sight.'  "f 

"Cease,  cease,"  cried  Ladice,  stopping  her  ears;  "that  is  too 
bad.  Now,  Persians,  you  can  see  what  manner  of  man  Amasis 
is.  For  the  sake  of  a  joke,  he  will  laugh  at  those  who  hold 
precisely  the  same  opinion  as  himself.  There  could  not  be  a 
better  husband " 

"Nor  a  worse  wife,"  laughed  Amasis.  "Thou  wilt  make 
men  think  that  I  am  a  too-obedient  husband.  But  now  fare- 

*Simonides  of  Amorgos,  an  Iambic  poet  who  delighted  in  writing 
satirical  verses  on  women.  He  divides  them  into  different  classes 
which  he  compares  to  unclean  animals,  and  considers  that  the  only 
woman  worthy  of  a  husband  and  able  to  make  him  happy  must  be 
like  the  bee.  The  well-known  fable  of  Pandora  owes  its  origin  to 
Simonides.  He  lived  about  650  B.  C.  The  Egyptians,  too,  speak  very 
severely  of  bad  women,  comparing  them  quite  in  the  Simonides 
style  to  beasts  of  prey  (hyenas,  lions  and  panthers).  We  find  this 
sentence  on  a  vicious  woman:  "She  is  a  collection  of  every  kind  of 
meanness,  and  a  bag  full  of  wiles."  Chabas,  "Papyr.  Magique  Harris," 
p.  135.  Phocylides,  of  Miletus,  a  rough  and  sarcastic,  but  observant 
man,  imitated  Simonides  in  his  style  of  writing.  But  the  deformed 
Hipponax,  of  Ephesus,  a  poet  crushed  down  by  poverty,  wrote  far 
bitterer  verses  than  Phocylides.  He  lived  about  550  B.  C.  "His  own 
ugliness  (according  to  Bernhardy)  is  reflected  in  every  one  of  his 
Choliambics."  See  Welcker,  Schneidewin  and  Bergk  for  fragments 
of  his  poems. 

tTaken  from  F.  W.  Richter's  excellent  translation. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  103 

well,  my  children;  our  young  heroes  must  look  at  this  our 
city  of  Sais;  before  parting  however  I  will  repeat  to  them  what 
the  malicious  Simonides  has  sung  of  a  good  wife: 

"  'Dear  to  her  spouse  from  youth  to  age  she  grows; 
'  Fills  with  fair  girls  and  sturdy  boys  his  house; 
Among  all  women  womanliest  seems, 
And  heavenly  grace  about  her  mild  brow  gleams. 
A  gentle  wife,  a  noble  spouse,  she  walks, 
Nor  ever  with  the  gossip-mongers  talks. 
Such  women  sometimes  Zeus  to  mortals  gives, 
The  glory  and  the  solace  of  their  lives.'  " 

— Translated  by  Edwin  Arnold. 

"Such  is  my  Ladice!  now  farewell!" 

"Not  yet!"  cried  Bartja.  "Let  me  first  speak  in  defense  of 
our  poor  Persia  and  instill  fresh  courage  into  my  future  sister- 
in-law;  but  no!  Darius,  thou  must  speak,  thine  eloquence  is 
as  great  as  thy  skill  in  figures  and  swordsmanship !" 

"Thou  speakest  of  me  as  if  I  were  a  gossip  or  a  shop- 
keeper,"* answered  the  son  of  Hystaspes.  "Be  it  so;  I  have 
been  burning  all  this  time  to  defend  the  customs  of  our  coun- 
try. Know,  then,  Ladice,  that  if  Auramazdaf  dispose  the 
heart  of  our  king  in  his  own  good  ways,  your  daughter  will  not 
be  his  slave  but  his  friend.  Know,  also,  that  in  Persia,  though 
certainly  only  at  high  festivals,  the  king's  wives  have  their 
places  at  the  men's  table,  and  that  we  pay  the  highest  reverence 
to  our  wives  and  mothers.  A  king  of  Babylon  once  took  a 
Persian  wife;  in  the  broad  plains  of  the  Euphrates  she  fell  sick 
of  longing  for  her  native  mountains;  he  caused  a  gigantic 
structure  to  be  raised  on  arches,  and  the  summit  thereof  to  be 
covered  with  a  depth  of  rich  earth;  caused  the  choicest  trees 
and  flowers  to  be  planted  there  and  watered  by  artificial  ma- 
'chinery.  This  wonder  completed,  he  led 'his  wife  thither; 
from  its  top  she  could  look  down  into  the  plains  below,  as  from 

*This  nickname,  which  Darius  afterward  earned,  is  more  fully 
spoken  of  at  the  end  of  the  second  volume. 

tAuramazda,  called  in  the  cuneiform  writings  Ormuzd,  was  the 
mighty,  pure  and  immaculate  god  of  the  Persians,  always  opposed 
to  Angramainjus  or  Ahriman,  the  principle  of  evil  and  darkness.  In 
the  Zend-Avesta  Auramazda  (according  to  Spiegel)  is  called  Ahura- 
Mazda. 


104  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

the  heights  of  Rachmed, -and  with  this  costly  gift  he  presented 
her.*     Tell  me,  could  even  an  Egyptian  give  more?" 

"And  did  she  recover?"  asked  Nitetis,  without  raising  her 
eyes. 

"She  recovered  health  and  happiness;  and  you,  too,  will  soon 
feel  well  and  happy  in  our  country." 

"And  now,"  said  Ladice,  with  a  smile,  "what,  think  you, 
contributed  most  to  the  young  queen's  recovery?  the  beautiful 
mountain  or  the  love  of  the  husband  who  erected  it  for  her 
sake?" 

"Her  husband's  love,"  cried  the  young  girls. 

"But  Nitetis  would  not  disdain  the  mountain  either,"  main- 
tained Bartja,  "and  I  shall  make  it  my  ca.re  that  whenever  the 
court  is  at  Babylon  she  has  the  hanging-gardens  for  her 
residence." 

"But  now  come,"  exclaimed  Amasis,  "unless  you  wish  to 
see  the  city  in  darkness.  Two  secretaries  have  been  awaiting 
me  yonder  for  the  last  two  hours.  Ho!  Sachons!  give  orders 
to  the  captain  of  the  guard  to  accompany  our  noble  guests 
with  a  hundred  men." 

"But  why?  a  single  guide,  perhaps  one  of  the  Greek  officers, 
would  be  amply  sufficient." 

"No,  my  young  friends,  it  is  better  so.  Foreigners  can 
never  be  too  prudent  in  Egypt.  Do  not  forget  this,  and 
especially  be  careful  not  to  ridicule  the  sacred  animals.  And 
now  farewell,  my  young  heroes,  till  we  meet  again  this  evening 
over  a  merry  wine-cup." 

The  Persians  then  quitted  the  palace,  accompanied  by  their 
interpreter,  a  Greek,  but  who  had  been  brought  up  in  Egypt 
and  spoke  both  languagesf  with  equal  facility. 

Those  streets  of  Sais  which  lay  near  the  palace  wore  a  pleas- 
ant aspect.     The  houses,  many  of  which  were  five  stories  high, 
were  generally  covered  with  pictures  or  hieroglyphics,  galleries- 
with  balustrades  of  carved  and  gayly  painted  woodwork,  _sup- 

*This  stupendous  erection  is  said  to  have  been  constructed  by 
Nebuchadnezzar  for  his  Persian  wife,  Amytis.  "Curtius,"  v,  5.  "Jose- 
phtis  contra  Apion,"  i,  19.  "Antiquities,"  x,  ii,  1.  "Diod.,"  ii,  10. 

tPsamtik  I  is  said  to  have  formed  a  new  caste,  viz.:  the  caste  of 
interpreters,  out  of  those  Greeks  who  had  been  born  and  bred  in 
Egypt.  "Herod.,"  ii,  154.  Herodotus  himself  was  probably  conducted 
by  such  a  "Dragoman.'* 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  105 

ported  by  columns  also  brightly  painted,  ran  round  the  walls 
surrounding1  the  courts.  In  many  cases  the  proprietor's  name 
and  rank  was  to  be  read  on  the  door,*  which  was,  however, 
well  closed  and  locked.  Flowers  and  shrubs  ornamented  the 
flat  roofs,  on  which  the  Egyptians  loved  to  spend  the  evening 
hours,  unless,  indeed,  they  preferred  ascending  the  mosquito- 
tower  with  which  nearly  every  house  was  provided.  These 
troublesome  insects,  engendered  by  the  Nile,  fly  low,  and  these 
little  watchtowers  were  built  as  a  protection  from  them.f 

The  young  Persians  admired  the  great,  almost  excessive, 
cleanliness  with  which  each  house,  nay,  even  the  streets  them- 
selves, literally  shone.  The  door-plates  and  knockers  sparkled 
in  the  sun;  paintings,  balconies,  and  columns  all  had  the  ap- 
pearance of  having  been  only  just  finished,  and  even  the  street 
pavement  looked  as  if  it  were  often  scoured. $  But  as  the 
Persians  left  the  neighborhood  of  the  Nile  and  the  palace  the 
streets  became  smaller.  Sais  was  built  on  the  slope  of  a  moder- 
ately high  hill,  and  had  only  been  the  residence  of  the  Pharaohs 
for  two  centuries  and  a  half;  but  during  that  comparatively 
short  interval  had  risen  from  an  unimportant  place  into  a  town 
of  considerable  magnitude. 

On  its  river  side  the  houses  and  streets  were  brilliant,  but  on 
the  hill  slope  lay,  with  but  few  more  respectable  exceptions, 
miserable,  poverty-stricken  huts  constructed  of  acacia  boughs 
and  Nile  mud.  On  the  northwest  rose  the  royal  citadel.§ 

"Let  us  turn  back  here,"  exclaimed  Gyges  to  his  young 
companions.  During  his  father's  absence  he  was  responsible 
as  their  guide  and  protector,  and  now  perceived  that  the  crowd 
of  curious  spectators  which  had  hitherto  followed  them  was 
increasing  at  every  step. 

"I  obey  your  orders,"  replied  the  interpreter,  "but  yonder 
in  the  valley,  at  the  foot  of  that  hill,  lies  the  Saitic  city  of  the 

*"Wilkinson,"  ii,  p.  102,  95, 1. 

f'Wilkinson,"  ii,  p.  119  and  121.  "Herod.,"  ii,  95.  Similar  little 
towers  can  be  seen  in  the  present  day. 

fThe  streets  of  Egyptian  towns  seem  to  have  been  paved,  judging 
from  the  ruins  of  Alabastron  and  Memphis.  We  know  at  least  with 
certainty  that  this  was  the  case  with  those  leading  to  the  temples. 

§The  mounds  of  rubbish  indicating  the  site  of  the  Acropolis  of 
Sais  were  seen  by  Lepsius  ("Brief e  S.,"  13),  and  even  earlier  by  the 
savants  who  accompanied  the  French  expedition. 


106  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

dead,  and  for  foreigners  I  should  think  that  would  be  of  great 
interest" 

"Go  forward!"  cried  Bartja.  "For  what  did  we  leave  .Persia, 
if  not  to  behold  these  remarkable  objects?" 

On  arriving  at  an  open  kind  of  square  surrounded  by  work- 
men's booths,*  and  not  far  from  the  city  of  the  dead,  confused 
cries  rose  among  the  crowd  behind  them.  The  children  shouted 
for  joy,  the  women  called  out  and  one  voice  louder  than  the  rest 
was  heard  exclaiming:  ''Come  hither  to  the  fore-court  of  the 
temple  and  see  the  works  of  the  great  magician,  who  comes 
from  the  western  oases  of  Libya  and  is  endowed  by  miraculous 
gifts  by  Chunsu,  the  giver  of  good  counsels,  and  by  Thoth, 
th  rice-greatest."f 

"Follow  me  to  the  small  temple  yonder,"  said  the  interpreter, 
"and  you  will  behold  a  strange  spectacle." 

He  pushed  a  way  for  himself  and  the  Persians  through  the 
crowd,  obstructed  in  his  course  by  many  a  sallow  woman  and 
naked  child;  and  at  length  came  back  with  a  priest  who  con- 
ducted the  strangers  into  the  fore-court  of  the  temple.  Here, 
surrounded  by  various  chests  and  boxes,  stood  a  man  in  the 
dress  of  a  priest;  beside  him  on  the  earth  knelt  two  negroes. 

The  Libyan^  was  a  man  of  gigantic  stature,  with  great  sup- 
pleness of  limb  and  a  pair  of  piercing,  black  eyes.  In  his  hand 
he  held  a  wind-instrument  resembling  a  modern  clarionet  and  a 
number  of  snakes  known  in  Egypt  to  be  poisonous  lay  coiling 
themselves  over  his  breast  and  arms. 

'Artisans,  as  well  among  the  ancient  as  the  modern  Egyptians,  were 
accustomed  to  work  in  the  open  air. 

tMany  texts  in  the  Bible  and  narratives  related  by  the  ancients 
prove  that  magicians  and  snake-charmers  were  not  uncommon  in 
ancient  Egypt.  "Psalm,"  58,  4,  5.  "Jerem.,"  8,  17.  "Aelian  Histor. 
Animal,"  xvii,  5.  Lane  tells  us  that  at  the  present  day  there  are 
more  than  three  hundred  such  snake-charmers  in  Cairo  alone.  We 
would  remind  our  readers  also  of  the  Psylli  of  Cyrenaica.  We  have 
chosen,  so  to  speak,  the  gods  Chunsu  and  Thoth  as  the  tutelary  deities 
of  these  conjurers,  because  the  former  is  mentioned  on  the  Bentrescht 
Stela  in  the  library  at  Paris,  as  casting  out  evil  spirits,  and  Thoth 
(the  Greek  Hermes),  the  inventor  of  the  art  of  writing  and  patron 
of  knowledge  generally,  seems  also  to  have  presided  over  magic. 

tThe  name  Libya  was  applied  to  the  western  shores  of  the  Nile 
and  the  regions  beyond.  The  Libyan  Nomos  lay  in  northwest  Egypt; 
and  abounded  in  serpents,  especially  in  its  western  portions  near  the 
Marmarica,  which  partake  of  the  desert  character. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  107 

On  finding  himself  in  the  presence  of  the  Persians  he  bowed 
low,  inviting  them  by  a  solemn  gesture  to  gaze  at  his  per- 
formances ;  he  then  cast  off  his  white  robe  and  began  all  kinds 
of  tricks  with  the  snakes. 

He  allowed  them  to  bite  him  till  the  blood  trickled  down 
his  cheeks;  compelled  them  by  the  notes  of  his  flute  to  assume 
an  erect  position  and  perform  a  kind  of  dancing  evolution: 
by  spitting  into  their  jaws  he  transformed  them  to  all  appear- 
ance into  motionless  rods ;  and  then  dashing  them  all  onto  the 
earth,  performed  a  wiM  dance  in  their  midst,  yet  without  once 
touching  a  single  snakt. 

Like  one  possessed  he  contorted  his  pliant  limbs  until  his 
eyes  seemed  starting  from  his1  head  and  a  bloody  foam  issued 
from  his  lips. 

Suddenly  he  fell  to  the  ground,  apparently  lifeless.  A  slight 
movement  of  the  lips  and  a  low,  hissing  whistle  were  the  only 
signs  of  life;  but,  on  hearing  the  latter,  the  snakes  creeped  up 
and  twined  themselves  like  living  rings  around  his  neck,  legs 
and  body.  At  last  he  arose,  stitig  a  hymn  in  praise  of  the 
divine  power  which  had  made  him  a  magician,  and  then  laid 
the  greater  number  of  his  snakes  in  one  of  the  chests,  retaining 
a  few,  probably  his  favorites,  to  serve  as  ornaments  for  his  neck 
and  arms. 

The  second  part  of  this  performance  consisted  of  clever  con- 
juring-tricks,  in  which  he  swallowed  burning  flax,  balanced 
swords  while  dancing,  their  points  standing  in  the  hollow  of  his 
eye;  drew  long  strings  and  ribbons  out  of  the  noses  of  the 
Egyptian  children,  exhibited  the  well-known  cup-and-ball  trick, 
and  at  length  raised  the  admiration  of  the  spectators  to  its 
highest  pitch  by  producing  five  living  rabbits  from  as  many 
ostrich-eggs. 

The  Persians  formed  no  unthankful  portion  of  the  assembled 
crowd ;  on  the  contrary,  this  scene,  so  .totally  new,  impressed 
them  deeply. 

They  felt  as  if  in  the  realm  of  miracles  and  fancied  they  had 
now  seen  the  rarest  of  all  Egyptian  rarities. 

In  silence  they  took  their  way  back  to  the  handsomer  streets 
of  Sais,  without  noticing  how  many  mutilated  Egyptians  crossed 
their  path.  These  poor  disfigured  creatures  were  indeed  no 
unusual  sight  for  Asiatics,  who  punished  many  crimes  by  the 
amputation  of  a  limb.  Had  they  inquired,  however,  they  would 


10g  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

have  heard  that,  in  Egypt,  the  man  deprived  of  his  hand  was  a 
convicted  forger;  the  woman  of  her  nose,  an  adulteress;  that 
the  man  without  a  tongue  had  been  found  guilty  of  high  trea- 
son or  false  witness;  that  the  loss  of  the  ears  denoted  a  spy  and 
that  the  pale,  idiotic-looking  woman  yonder  had  been  guilty  of 
infanticide  and  had  been  condemned  to  hold  the  little  corpse 
three  days  and  three  nights  in  her  arms.  What  woman  could 
retain  her  senses  after  these  hours  of  torture?* 

The  greater  number  of  the  Egyptian  penal  laws  not  only 
secured  the  punishment  of  the  criminal,  but  rendered  a  repeti- 
tion of  the  offense  impossible. 

The  Persian  party  now  met  with  a  hindrance,  a  large  crowd 
having  assembled  before  one  of  the  handsomest  houses  in  the 
street  leading  to  the  temple  of  Neith.  The  few  windows  of 
this  house  that  could  be  seen  (the  greater  number  opening  on 
the  garden  and  court)  were  closed  with  shutters  and  at  the  door 
stood  an  old  man,  dressed  in  the  plain  white  robe  of  a  priest's 
servant.  He  was  endeavoring,  with  loud  cries,  to  prevent  a 
number  of  men  of  his  class  from  carrying  a  large  chest  out  of 
the  house. 

"What  right  have  you  to  rob  my  master?"  he  shrieked, 
indignantly.  "I  am  the  guardian  of  this  house  and  when  my 
master  left  for  Persia  (may  the  gods  destroy  that  land !)  he  bade 
me  take  especial  care  of  this  chest  in  which  his  manuscripts  lay." 

"Compose  yourself,  old  Hib!"  shouted  one  of  these  inferior 
priests,  the  same  whose  acquaintance  we  made  on  the  arrival  of 
the  Asiatic  embassy.  "We  are  here  in  the  name  of  the  high- 
priest  of  the  great  Neith,  your  master's  master.  There  must 
be  queer  papers  in  this  box  or  Neithotep  would  not  have 
honored  us  with  his  commands  to  fetch  them." 

"But  I  will  not  allow  my  master's  papers  to  be  stolen," 
shrieked  the  old  man.  "My  master  is  the  great  physician  Ne- 
benchari  and  I  will  secure  his  rights,  even  if  I  must  appeal  to 
the  king  himself." 

"There,"  cried  the  other,  "that  will  do;  out  with  the  chest 
you  fellows.  Carry  it  at  once  to  the  high-priest;  and  you,  old 
man,  would  do  more  wisely  to  hold  your  tongue  and  remember 
that  the  high-priest  is  your  master  as  well  as  mine.  Get  into  the 
house  as  quick  as  you  can  or  to-morrow  we  shall  have  to  drag* 

*"Diodorus,"  i,  77. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  109 

you  off  as  we  did  the  chest  to-day!"  So  saying  he  slammed 
the  heavy  door,  the  old  man  was  flung  backward  into  the  house 
and  the  crowd  saw  him  no  more. 

The  Persians-  had  watched  this  scene  and  obtained  an  ex- 
planation of  its  meaning  from  their  interpreter. 

Zopyrus  laughed  on  hearing  that  the  possessor  of  the  stolen 
chest  was  the  oculist  Nebenchari,  the  same  who  had  been  sent 
to  Persia  to  restore  the  sight  of  the  king's  mother,  and  whose 
grave,  even  morose,  temper  had  procured  him  but  little  love 
at  the  court  of  Cambyses. 

Bartja  wished  to  ask  Amasis  the  meaning  of  this  strange 
robbery,  but  Gyges  begged  him  not  to  interfere  in  matters  with 
which  he  had  no  concern.  Just  as  they  reached  the  palace — 
and  darkness,  which  in  Egypt  so  quickly  succeeds  the  daylight, 
was  already  stealing  over  the  city — Gyges  felt  himself  hindered 
from  proceeding  farther  by  a  firm  hand  on  his  robe  and  per- 
ceived a  stranger  holding  a  finger  on  his  lips  in  token  of  silence. 

"Where  can  I  speak  with  you  alone  and  unobserved?"  he 
whispered. 

"What  do  you  wish  from  me?" 

"Ask  no  questions  but  answer  me  quickly.  By  Mithra,*  I 
have  weighty  matters  to  disclose." 

"You  speak  Persian,  but  your  garments  would  proclaim  you 
an  Egyptian." 

"I  am  a  Persian,  but  answer  me  quickly  or  we  shall  be 
noticed.  When  can  I  speak  to  you  alone?" 

"To-morrow  morning." 

"That  is  too  late." 

"Well  then,  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  when  it  is  quite  dark,  at 
this  gate  of  the  palace." 

"I  shall  expect  you." 

So  saying  the  man  vanished.  Once  within  the  palace,  Gyges 
left  Bartja  and  Zopyrus,  fastened  his  sword  into  his  girdle, 
begged  Darius  to  do  the  same  and  to  follow  him,  and  was  soon 
standing  again  under  the  great  portico  with  the  stranger,  but 
this  time  in  total  darkness. 

"Auramazda  be  praised  that  you  are  there!"  cried  the  latter 
in  Persian  to  the  young  Lydian ;  "but  who  is  that  with  you?" 

*Oaths  sworn  in  the  name  of  Mithra,  the  god  of  the  sun,  were  held 
specially  sacred  among  the  Persians.  "Vendid.  Farg.,"  iv,  36.  "Spie- 
gel, Avesta.  S.,"  94. 


110  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"Darius,  the  son  of  Hystaspes,  one  of  the  Achaemenidae,* 
and  my  friend." 

The  stranger  bowed  low  and  answered,  "It  is  well ;  I  feared 
an  Egyptian  had  accompanied  you." 

"No,  we  are  alone  and  willing  to  hear  you;  but  be  brief. 
Who  are  you  and  what  do  you  want?" 

"My  name  is  Bubares.  I  served  as  a  poor  captain  under  the 
great  Cyrus.  At  the  taking  of  your  fathers  city,  Sardis,  the 
soldiers  were  at  first  allowed  to  plunder  freely;  but  on  your 
wise  father's  representing  to  Cyrus  that  to  plunder  a  city  al- 
ready taken  was  an  injury  to  the  present  and  not  to  the  former 
possessor}"  they  were  commanded  on  pain  of  death  to  deliver 
up  their  booty  to  their  captains  and  the  latter  to  cause  everything 
of  worth,  when  brought  to  them,  to  be  collected  in  the  market- 
place. Gold  and  silver  trappings  lay  there  in  abundance,  costly 
articles  of  attire  studded  with  precious  stones " 

"Quick,  quick!  our  time  is  short,"  interrupted  Gyges. 

"You  are  right.  I  must  be  more  brief.  By  keeping  for 
myself  an  ointment-box  sparkling  with  jewels  taken  from  your 
father's  palace  I  forfeited  my  life.  Croesus,  however,  pleaded 
for  me  with  his  conqueror,  Cyrus;  my  life  and  liberty  were 
granted  me  but  I  was  declared  a  dishonored  man.  Life  in 
Persia  became  impossible  with  disgrace  lying  heavily  on  my 
soul;  I  took  ship  from  Smyrna  for  Cyprus,  entered  the  army 
there,  fought  against  Amasis  and  was  brought  hither  by  Phanes 
as  a  prisoner  of  war.  Having  always  served  as  a  horse-soldier, 
I  was  placed  among  those  slaves  who  had  charge  of  the  king's 
horses  and  in  six  years  became  an  overseer.  Never  have  I 
forgotten  the  debt  of  gratitude  I  owe  to  your  father;  and  now 
my  turn  has  come  to  render  him  a  service." 

"The  matter  concerns  my  father?  then  speak — tell  me,  I  be- 
seech you!" 

"Immediately.     Has  Croesus  offended  the  crown-prince?" 

"Not  that  I  am  aware  of." 

"Your  father  is  on  a  visit  to  Rhodopis  this  evening,  at 
Naukratis?" 

*Achaemenidae  was  the  name  given  to  the  kings  of  Persia  de- 
scended from  Achaemenes  and  to  the  nobles  related  to  them  at  birth. 
In  the  cuneiform  character  inscription  of  "Behistan,"  i,  2,  the  name  is 
"Hakhamanis." 

f'Herod.,"  i,  88. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  Ill 

"How  did  you  hear  this?" 

"From  himself.  I  followed  him  to  the  boat  this  morning  and 
sought  to  cast  myself  at  his  feet." 

"And  did  you  succeed?" 

"Certainly.  He  spoke  a  few  gracious  words  with  me,  but 
could  not  wait  to  hear  what  I  would  say,  as  his  companions 
were  already  on  board  when  he  arrived.  His  slave  Sandon, 
whom  I  know,  told  me  that  they  were  going  to  Naukratis,  and 
would  visit  the  Greek  woman  whom  they  call  Rhodopis." 

"He  spoke  truly." 

"Then  you  must  speed  to  the  rescue.  At  the  time  that  the 
market-place  was  full,*  ten  carriages  and  two  boats  full  of 
Ethiopian  soldiers  under  the  command  of  an  Egyptian  captain, 
were  sent  off  to  Naukratis  to  surround  the  house  of  Rhodopis 
and  make  captives  of  her  guests." 

"Ha,  treachery!"  exclaimed  Gyges. 

"But  how  can  they  wish  to  injure  your  father?"  said  Darius. 
"They  know  that  the  vengeance  of  Cambyses " 

"I  only  know,"  repeated  Bubares,  "that  this  night  the  house 
of  Rhodopis,  in  which  your  father  is,  will  be  surrounded  by 
Ethiopian  soldiers.  I  myself  saw  the  horses  which  transported 
them  thither  and  heard  Pentaur,  one  of  the  crown-prince's  fan- 
bearers,  call  to  them:  'Keep  eyes  and  ears  open,  and  let  the 
house  of  Rhodopis  be  surrounded  lest  he  should  escape  by  the 
back  door.  If  possible  spare  his  life  and  kill  him  only  if  he 
resist.  Bring  him  alive  to  Sais  and  you  shall  receive  twenty 
rings  of  gold."f 


*The  forenoon  among  the  Greeks  was  regulated  by  the  business 
of  the  market.  irM/flovoa  ayopd,  irepi  ir?J/6ovaav  ayopat* — n7j]6uprj  ayopag. 
"Herod.,"  ii,  173,  vii,  223.  didlvoif  ayoaas  ("Zenoph.  Occon.,"  xii,  1). 
"When  the  market-place  begins  to  fill,  when  it  is  full,  when  it  be- 
comes empty."  It  would  be  impossible  to  define  this  division  of 
time  exactly  according  to  our  modern  methods  of  computation,  but 
it  seems  certain  that  the  market  was  over  by  the  afternoon.  The 
busiest  hours  were  probably  from  ten  to  one. 

fit  is  no  longer  a  matter  of  question,  that  before  the  time  of  the 
Persians,  and  therefore  at  this  point  of  our  history,  no  money  had 
been  coined  in  Egypt.  The  precious  metals  were  weighed  out  arid 
used  as  money  in  the  shape  of  rings,  animals,  etc.  On  many  of  the 
monuments  we  see  people  purchasing  goods  and  weighing  out  the 
gold  in  payment;  'while  others  are  paying  their  tribute  in  gold  rings 
These  rings  were  in  use  as  a  medium  of  payment  up  to  the  time  of 


U2  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"But  could  that  allude  to  my  father?" 

"Certainly  not,"  cried  Darius. 

"It  is  impossible  to  say,"  murmured  Bubares.  "In  this  coun- 
try one  can  never  know  what  may  happen." 

"How  long  does  it  take  for  a  good  horse  to  reach  Naukratis?" 

"Three  hours  if  he  can  go  so  long  and  the  Nile  has  not  over- 
flowed the  road  too  much." 

"I  will  be  there  in  two." 

"I  shall  ride  with  you,"  said  Darius. 

"No,  you  must  remain  here  with  Zopyrus  for  Bartja's  protec- 
tion. Tell  the  servants  to  get  ready." 

"But  Gyges " 

"Yes,  you  will  stay  here  and  excuse  me  to  Amasis.  Say  I 
could  not  come  to  the  evening  revel  on  account  of  headache, 
toothache,  sickness,  anything  you  like.  I  shall  ride  Bartja's 
Nicaean  horse;  and  you,  Bubares,  will  follow  me  on  Darius' 
horse.  You  will  lend  him,  my  brother?" 

"If  I  had  ten  thousand  you  should  have  them  all." 

"Do  you  know  the  way  to  Naukratis,  Bubares?" 

"Blindfold." 

"Then  go,  Darius,  and  tell  them  to  get  your  horse  and  Bartja's 
ready.  To  linger  would  be  sin.  Farewell,  Darius,  perhaps 
forever!  Protect  Bartja!  Once  more,  farewell!" 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


It  wanted  two  hours  of  midnight.  Bright  light  was  stream- 
ing through  the  open  windows  of  Rhodopis'  house  and  sounds 
of  mirth  and  gayety  fell  on  the  ear.  Her  table  had  been  adorned 
with  special  care  in  Croesus'  honor. 

On  the  cushions  around  it  lay  the  guests  with  whom  we  are 
already  acquainted:  Theodorus,  Ibykus,  Phanes,  Aristom- 
achus,  the  merchant  Theopompus  of  Miletus,  Croesus  and 
others  crowned  with  chaplets  of  poplar  and  roses. 

the  Ptolemies.  Pliny  xxxiii,  1,  "Balances."  "Wilkinson,"  ii,  p.  10, 
In  which  rings  are  being  weighed  with  a  weight  in  the  form  of  an 
animal. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  113 

Theodorus,  the  sculptor,  was  speaking:  "Egypt  seems  to 
me,"  he  said,  "like  a  girl  who  persists  in  wearing  a  tight  and 
painful  shoe  only  because  it  is  of  gold,  while  within  her  reach 
lie  beautiful  and  well-fitting  slippers  in  which  she  could  move 
at  ease  if  she  only  would." 

"You  refer  to  the  Egyptians'  pertinacity  in  retaining  tradi- 
tional forms  and  customs?"  asked  Croesus. 

"Certainly  I  do,"  answered  the  sculptor.  "Two  centuries 
ago  Egypt  was  unquestionably  the  first  of  the  nations.  In  art 
and  science  she  far  excelled  us;  but  we  learned  their  methods 
of  working,  improved  on  them,  held  firm  to  no  prescribed 
proportions,  but  to  the  natural  types  alone,  gave  freedom  and 
beauty  to  their  unbending  outlines,*  and  now  have  left  our 
masters  far  behind  us.  But  how  was  this  possible?  Simply 
because  the  Egyptians,  bound  by  unalterable  laws,  could  make 
no  progress;  we,  on  the  contrary,  were  free  to  pursue  our 
course  in  the  wide  arena  of  art  as  far  as  will  and  power  would 
allow." 

"Bjit  how  can  an  artist  be  compelled  to  fashion  statues  alike 
which  are  meant  to  differ  from  each  other  in  what  they  repre- 
sent?" 

"In  this  case  that  can  be  easily  explained.  The  entire  human 
body  is  divided  by  the  Egyptians  into  twenty-four  and  one- 
fourth  parts,f  in  accordance  with  which  division  the  proportion 
of  each  separate  limb  is  regulated.  I,  myself,  have  laid  a  wager 
with  Amasis,  in  presence  of  the  first  Egyptian  sculptor  (a  priest 
of  Thebes),  that,  if  I  "send  my  brother  Telekles,  in  Ephesus, 
dimensions,  proportion  and  attitude,  according  to  the  Egyp- 


*See  note  p.  15. 

tThese  numbers  and  the  story  which  immediately  follows  are 
taken  from  "Diodorus,"  i,  98.  Plato  tells  us  that  in  his  time  a  law 
existed  binding  tne  Egyptian  artists  to  execute  their  works  with 
exactly  the  same  amount  of  beauty  or  its  reverse  as  those  which  had 
been  made  more  than  a  thousand  years  before.  This  statement  is 
confirmed  by  the  monuments;  but  anyone  well  acquainted  with 
Egyptian  art  can  discern  a  marked  difference  in  the  style  of  each 
epoch.  At  the  time  of  the  ancient  kingdom  the  forms  were  com- 
pressed and  stunted ;  under  Rameses  beauty  of  proportion  reached  its 
highest  point.  During  and  after  the  twentieth  dynasty  the  style  de- 
clined in  beauty;  in  the  twenty-sixth,  under  the  descendants  of 
Psammetichus,  we  meet  with  a  last  revival  of  art,  but  the  ancient 
purity  of  form  was  never  again  attained. 


114  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

tian  method,  he  and  I  together  can  produce  a  statue  which 
shall  look  as  if  sculptured  from  one  block  and  by  one  hand, 
though  Telekles  is  to  carve  the  lower  half  at  Ephesus,  and  I 
the  upper  here  in  Sais  and  under  the  eye  of  Amasis." 

"And  shall  you  win  your  wager?" 

"Undoubtedly.  I  am  just  going  to  begin  this  trick  of  art; 
it  will  as  little  deserve  the  name  of  a  work  of  art  as  an  Egyptian 
statue." 

"And  yet  there  are  single  sculptures  here  which  are  of  ex- 
quisite workmanship;  such,  for  instance,  as  the  one  Amasis 
sent  to  Samos  as  a  present  to  Polykrates.  In  Memphis  I  saw 
a  statue  said  to  be  about  three  thousand  years  old  and  to 
represent  a  king*  who  built  the  great  pyramid,  which  excited 
my  admiration  in  every  respect.  With  what  certainty  and 
precision  that  unusually  hard  stone  has  been  wrought!  the 
muscles,  how  carefully  carved!  especially  in  the  breast,  legs  and 
feet;  the  harmony  of  the  features,  too,  and,  above  all,  the  polish 
of  the  whole,  leave  nothing  to  be  desired." 

"Unquestionably.  In  all  the  mechanism  of  art,  such  a's  pre- 
cision and  certainty  in  working  even  the  hardest  materials,  the 
Egyptians,  though  they  have  so  long  stood  still  in  other  points, 
are  still  far  before  us;  but  to  model  form  with  freedom,  to 
breathe,  like  Prometheus,  a  soul  into  the  stone,  they  will  never 
learn  until  their  old  notions  on  this  subject  have  been  entirely 
abandoned.  Even  the  pleasing  varieties  of  corporeal  life  can- 
not be  represented  by  a  system  of  mere  proportions,  much  less 
those  which  are  inner  and  spiritual.  Look  at  the  countless 
statues  which  have  been  erected  during  the  last  three  thousand 
years,  in  all  the  temples  and  palaces  from  Naukratis  up  to  the 
cataracts.  They  are  all  of  one  type,  and  represent  men  of 
middle  age,  with  grave  but  benevolent  countenances.  Yet  they 
are  intended,  some  as  statues  of  aged  monarchs,  others  to  per- 
petuate the  memory  of  young  princes.  The  warrior  and  the 
lawgiver,  the  blood-thirsty  tyrant  and  the  philanthropist  are 

*These"  wooden  statues  represented  the  king  himself.  "Herod.," 
ii,  182.  A  considerable  number  of  portrait-statues  have  come  down 
to  us.  As  a  proof  of  the  height  which  art  in  Egypt  had  reached, 
even  at  so  early  a  period  as  the  time  of  the  pyramids,  we  need  only 
allude  to  the  statue  of  Chefren  now  in  the  museum  at  Boolak,  ex- 
quisitely wrought  in  very  hard  material.  At  the  Paris  exhibition  of 
1867  it  excited  the  admiration  of  every  beholder. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  115 

only  distinguished  from  each  other  by  a  difference  in  size,  by 
which  the  Egyptian  sculptor  expresses  the  idea  of  power  and 
strength.  Amasis  orders  a  statue  just  as  I  should  a  sword. 
Breadth  and  length  being  specified,  we  both  of  us  know  quite 
well,  before  the  master  has  begun  his  work,  what  we  shall 
receive  when  it  is  finished.  How  could  I  possibly  fashion  an 
infirm  old  man  like  an  eager  youth?  a  pugilist  like  a  runner 
in  the  foot-race?  a  poet  like  a  warrior?  Put  Ibykus  and  our 
Spartan  friend  side  by  side  and  tell  me  what  you  would  say, 
were  I  to  give  to  the.  stern  warrior  the  gentle  features  and 
gestures  of  our  heart-ensnaring  poet." 

"Well,  and  how  does  Amasis  answer  your  remarks  on  this 
stagnation  in  art?" 

"He  deplores  it;  but  does  not  feel  himself  strong  enough 
to  abolish  the  restrictive  laws  of  the  priests." 

"And  yet,"  said  the  Delphian,  "he  has  given  a  large  sum 
toward  the  embellishment  of  our  new  temple,  expressly  (I  use 
his  own  words)  for  the  promotion  of  Hellenic  art!" 

"That  is  admirable  in  him,"  exclaimed  Croesus.  "Will  the 
Alkmaeonidae  soon  have  collected  the  three  hundred  talents 
(about  $337,500)  necessary  for  the  completion  of  the  temple?* 
Were  I  as  rich  as  formerly  I  would  gladly  undertake  the  entire 
cost;  notwithstanding  that  your  malicious  god  so  cruelly  de- 
ceived me  after  all  my  offerings  at  his  shrine.  For  when  I 
sent  to  ask  whether  I  should  begin  the  war  with  Cyrus  he 
returned  his  answer:  I  should  destroy  a  mighty  kingdom  by 
crossing  the  river  Halys.f  I  trusted  the  god,  secured  the 
friendship  of  Sparta  according  to  his  commands,  crossed  the 
boundary  stream,  and,  in  so  doing,  did  indeed  destroy  a  mighty 
kingdom;  not,  however,  that  of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  but 
my  own  poor  Lydia,  which,  as  a  satrapy  of  Cambyses,  finds  its 
loss  of  independence  a  hard  and  uncongenial  yoke." 

"You  blame  the  god  unjustly,"  answered  Phryxus.  "It  can- 
not be  his  fault  that  you,  in  your  human  conceit,  should  have 

*The  noble  Attic  family  of  the  Alkmaeonidae,  after  having  been 
driven  from  Athens  by  Pisistratus,  undertook  to  rebuild  the  temple 
Delphi.  A  fourth  of  the  money  required  for  the  work  was  to  be 
procured  by  the  Delphians  themselves,  who  also  made  collections  in 
Egypt,  and  are  said  to  have  obtained  a  considerable  sum  there. 
"Herod.,"  ii,  180. 

f'Herod.,"  i,  53.    "Xenoph.  Cyrop.,"  vii,  2. 


116  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

misinterpreted  his  oracle.  The  answer  did  not  say  'the  king- 
dom of  Persia/  but  'a  kingdom'  should  be  destroyed  through 
your  desire  for  war.  Why  did  you  not  inquire  what  kingdom 
was  meant?  Was  not  your  son's  fate  truly  prophesied  by  the 
oracle?  and  also  that  on  the  day  of  misfortune  he  would  regain 
his  speech?  And  when,  after  the  fall  of  Sardis,  Cyrus  granted 
your  wish  to  inquire  at  Delphi  whether  the  Greek  gods  made  a 
rule  of  requiting  their  benefactors  by  ingratitude,  Loxias  an- 
swered that  he  had  willed  the  best  for  you,  but  was  controlled 
by  a  mightier  power  than  himself,  by  that  inexorable  fate  which 
had  foretold  to  thy  great  ancestor*  that  his  fifth  successor  was 
doomed  to  destruction." 

"In  the  first  days  of  my  adversity  I  needed  these  words  far 
more  than  now,"  interrupted  Croesus.  "There  was  a  time  when 
I  cursed  your  god  and  his  oracles;  but  later,  when  with  my 
riches  my  flatterers  had  left  me,  and  I  became  accustomed  to 
pronounce  judgment  on  my  own  actions,  I  saw  clearly  that  not 
Apollo,  but  my  own  vanity,  had  been  the  cause  of  my  ruin. 
How  could  'the  kingdom  to  be  destroyed'  possibly  mean  mine, 
the  mighty  realm  of  the  powerful  Croesus,  the  friend  of  the 
gods,  the  hitherto  unconquered  leader?  Had  a  friend  hinted 
at  this  interpretation  of  the  ambiguous  oracle  I  should  have 
derided,  nay,  probably  caused  him  to  be  punished.  For  a 
despotic  ruler  is  like  a  fiery  steed ;  the  latter  endeavors  to  kick 
him  who  touches  his  wounds  with  intent  to  heal;  the  former 
punishes  him  who  lays  a  hand  on  the  weak  or  failing  points  of 
his  diseased  mind.  Thus  I  missed  what,  if  my  eyes  had  not 
been  dazzled,  I  might  easily  have  seen ;  and  now  that  my  vision 
is  clearer,  though  I  have  nothing  to  lose,  I  am  far  more  often 
anxious  than  in  the  days  when  none  could  possibly  lose  more 
than  I.  In  comparison  with  those  days,  Phryxus,  I  may  be 
called  a  poor  man  now,  but  Cambyses  does  not  leave  me  to 
famish,  and  I  can  still  raise  a  talentf  for  your  temple." 

*Kaudaules,  who  received  the  answer  mentioned  in  the  text  from 
the  oracle,  had  murdered  Gyges,  king  of  Lydia,  and  thus  obtained 
possession  of  the  throne.  "Herod.,"  i,  8,  91. 

tThe  ancient  Attic  talent  of  silver  was  worth  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  pounds  sterling,  according  to  Bockh,  "Staatshaushaltung 
der  Athener,"  i,  25.  The  Mina  was  worth  three  pounds  fifteen  pence, 
the  drachma  about  seven  pence,  and  the  obolus  a  little  more  than  one 
pence. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  117 

- 

Phryxus  expressed  his  thanks,  and  Phanes  remarked:  "The 
Alkmaeonidae  will  be  sure  to  erect  a  beautiful  edifice,  for  they 
are  rich  and  ambitious,  and  desirous  of  gaining  favor  with  the 
Amphiktyons,  in  order,  by  their  aid,  to  overthrow  the  tyrants, 
secure  to  themselves  a  higher  position  than  that  of  the  family 
to  which  I  belong,  and,  with  this,  the  guidance  of  state  affairs." 

"Is  it  true,  as  people  say,"  asked  Ibykus,  "that  next  to  Agar- 
ista,*  with  whom  Megakles  received  so  rich  a  dowry,  you, 
Croesus,  have  been  the  largest  contributor  to  the  wealth  of  the 
Alkmaeonidae?" 

"True  enough,"  answered  Croesus,  laughing. 

"Tell  us  the  story,  I  beg,"  said  Rhodopis. 

"Well,"  answered  Croesus,  "Alkmaeon  of  Athens  once  ap- 
peared at  my  court  ;f  his  cheerfulness  and  cultivation  pleased 
me  well,  and  I  retained  him  near  me  for  some  time.  One  day 
I  showed  him  my  treasure-chambers,  at  the  sight  of  which  he 
fell  into  despair,  called  himself  a  common  beggar  and  declared 
that  one  good  handful  of  these  precious  things  would  make  him 
a  happy  man.  I  at  once  allowed  him  to  take  as  much  gold 
away  as-  he  could  carry.  What  think  you  he,  Alkmaeon,  did  on 
this?  Sent  for  high  Lydian  riding-boots,  an  apron  and  a 
basket,  had  the  one  secured  behind  him,  put  the  others  on,  and1 
filled  them  all  with  gold,  till  they  could  hold  no  more.  Not 
content  with  this,  he  strewed  gold-dust  in  his  hair  and  beard 
and  filled  his  mouth  to  that  extent  that  he  appeared  in  the  act 
of  choking.  In  each  hand  he  grasped  a  golden  dish,  and  thus 
laden  dragged  himself  out  of  the  treasure-house,  falling  ex- 
hausted as  he  crossed  the  threshold.  Never  have  I  laughed  so 
heartily  as  at  this  sight." 

"But  did  you  grant  him  all  these  treasures?"  said  Rhodopis. 

"Yes,  yes,  my  friend;  and  did  not  think  even  then  that  I  had 
paid  too  dearly  for  the  experience  that  gold  can  make  fools  even 
of  clever  men." 

"You  were  the  most  generous  of  monarchs,"  cried  Phanes. 

"And  make  a  tolerably  contented  beggar,"  answered  Croesus. 
"But  tell  me,  Phryxus,  how  much  has  Amasis  contributed  to 
your  collection?" 

*Agarista  was  the  wealthy  heiress  of  Klisthenes  of  Sicyon  and  wife 
of  Megakles,  one  of  the  Alkmaeonidae.  "Herod.,"  vi,  126-130.  "Diod.," 
vii,  19.  "Pherecydes  fr.,"  20.  Miiller. 

f'Herod.,"  vi,  125. 


118  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"He  gave  fifty  tons  of  alum."* 

"A  royal  gift!" 

"And  the  Prince  Psamtik?" 

"On  my  appealing  to  him  by  his  father's  munificence  he 
turned  his  back  on  me  and  answered,  with  a  bitter  laugh: 
'Collect  money  for  the  destruction  of  your  temple  and  I  am 
ready  to  double  my  father's  donation!'" 

"The  wretch!" 

"Say,  rather,  the  true  Egyptian!  To  Psamtik  everything 
foreign  is  an  abomination." 

"How  much  have  the  Greeks  in  Naukratis  contributed?'' 

"Besides  munificent  private  donations  each  community  has 
given  twenty  minae."f 

"That  is  much." 

"Philoinus  the  Sybarite  alone  sent  me  a  thousand  drachmae, 
and  accompanied  his  gift  with  a  most  singular  epistle.  May  I 
read  it  aloud,  Rhodopis?" 

"Certainly,"  answered  she.  "It  will  show  you  that  the  drunk- 
ard has  repented  of  his  late  behavior." 

The  Delphian  began:  "Philoinus  to  Phryxus:  It  grieves  me 
that  at  Rhodopis'  house  the  other  night  I  did  not  drink  more; 
for,  had  I  done  so,  I  should  have  lost  consciousness  entirely, 
and  so  have  been  unable  to  offend  even  the  smallest  insect.  My 
confounded  abstemiousness  is  therefore  to  blame  that  I  can  no 
longer  enjoy  a  place  at  the  best  table  in  all  Egypt.  I  am  thank- 
ful, however,  to  Rhodopis  for  past  enjoyment,  and  in  memory 
of  her  glorious  roast  beef  (which  has  bred  in  me  the  wish  to  buy 
her  cook  at  any  price)  I  send  twelve  large  spits  for  roasting 
oxen,$  and  beg  they  may  be  placed  in  some  treasure-house  at 
Delphi  as  an  offering  from  Rhodopis.  As  for  myself,  being  a 
rich  man,  I  sign  my  name  for  a  thousand  drachmae  and  beg 
that  my  gift  may  be  publicly  announced  at  the  next  Pythian 

*"Herod.,"  ii,  180. 

f'Herod.,"  ii,  180.  It  might  be  understood  from  this  passage  that 
the  sum  of  twenty  minae,  or  seventy-five  pounds  sterling,  had  been 
contributed  by  the  entire  Greek  colony  in  Naukratis.  But  as  this 
would  have  been  far  too  small  a  sum  for  so  considerable  a  place,  and 
yet  (in  Valla's  opinion)  too  much  for  each  individual  citizen,  we  can 
only  assume  that  Herodotus  is  speaking  of  the  different  communities 
of  which  the  colony  was  composed. 

JRhodopis  is  said  to  have  sent  such  a  gift  to  Delphi.  "Herod.,"  ii, 
135. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  119 

games.  To  that  rude  fellow,  Aristomachus  of  Sparta,  express 
my  thanks  for  the  effectual  manner  in  which  he  fulfilled  my 
intention  in  coming  to  Egypt.  I  came  hither  for  the  purpose 
of  having  a  tooth  extracted  by  an  Egyptian  dentist,*  said  to 
take  out  teeth  without  causing  much  pain.  Aristomachus, 
however,  knocked  out  the  defective  tooth  and  so  saved  me  from 
an  operation,  the  thought  of  which  had  often  made  me  tremble. 
On  recovering  consciousness  I  found  that  three  teeth  had  been 
knocked  into  my  mouth,  the  diseased  one  and  two  others, 
which,  though  healthy,  would  probably  at  some  future  time 
have  caused  me  pain.  Salute  Rhodopis  and  the  handsome 
Phanes  from  me.  You,  I  invite  to  an  entertainment  at  my 
house  in  Sybaris,  this  day  year.f  We  are  accustomed  to  issue 
invitations  somewhat  early  on  account  of  many  necessary 
preparations.  I  have  caused  this  epistle  to  be  written  by  my 
slave  Sophotatus,  in  an  adjoining  chamber,  as  merely  to  behold 
the  labor  of  writing  causes  cramp  in  my  fingers." 

A  burst  of  laughter  arose  at  these  words,  but  Rhodopis  said: 
"This  letter  gives  me  pleasure ;  it  proves  that  Philoinus  is  not 
bad  at  heart.  Brought  up  a  Sybarite." 

She  was  suddenly  interrupted  by  the  voice  of  a  stranger,  who 
had  entered  unperceived,  and,  after  apologizing  to  the  venerable 
hostess  and  her  guests  for  appearing  without  invitation  among 
them,  continued  thus:  "I  am  Gyges  the  son  of  Croesus,  and  it 
has  not  been  merely  for  pastime  that  I  have  ridden  out  from 
Sais  in  two  hours  lest  I  should  arrive  too  late!" 

"Menon,  a  cushion  for  our  guest!'-  cried  Rhodopis.  "Be 
welcome  to  my  house  and  take  some  repose  after  your  wild, 
thoroughly  Lydian,  ride." 

"By  the  dog,|  Gyges!"  exclaimed  Croesus,  "what  brings  thee 
here  at  this  hour?  I  begged  thee  not  to  quit  Bartja's  side. 
But  how  thou  look'st!  what  is  the  matter?  has  aught  happened? 
speak!  speak!" 

*The  Egyptian  dentists  must  have  been  very  skilled.  Artificial 
teeth  have  been  discovered  in  the  jaws  of  mummies.  See  Blumen- 
bach  on  "The  Teeth  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians  and  on  Mummies." 
"Gottinger  Magazin,"  1780,  i,  115. 

f'Athen.,"  xii,  20.    "Plut.  Sept.  Sap.,"  p.  147. 

j"  vi)  TOV  %{>va  ."  An  oath  of  Rhadamanthus  used  in.  order  to 
avoid  mentioning  the  names  of  the  gods.  "Schol.  Aristoph.  Avez.," 
520. 


120  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

In  the  first  moment  Gyges  could  not  answer  a  word.  To 
see  his  beloved  father,  for  whose  very  life  he  had  been  in  such 
anxiety,  a  safe  and  happy  guest  at  this  rich  banquet,  seemed  to 
rob  him  of  his  speech  a  second  time.  At  last,  however,  he  was 
able  to  say :  "The  gods  be  praised,  my  father,  that  I  see  thee  safe 
once  more!  Think  not  I  forsook  my  post  thoughtlessly.  Alas! 
I  am  forced  to  appear  as  a  bird  of  evil  omen  in  this  cheerful 
assembly.  Know  at  once,  ye  guests,  for  I  dare  not  lose  time  in 
preparing  my  words,  that  a  treacherous  assault  awaits  ye !" 

They  all  sprang  up  as  if  struck  by  lightning.  Aristomachus 
silently  loosened  his  sword  in  its  scabbard;  Phanes  extended 
his  arms  as  if  to  discern  whether  the  old  athletic  elasticity  still 
dwelt  there. 

"What  can  it  be?  What  is  their  design?"  echoed  from  all 
sides. 

"This  house  is  surrounded  by  Ethiopian  soldiers!"  answered 
Gyges.  "A  faithful  fellow  confided  to  me  that  the  crown-prince 
had  designs  on  one  of  your  number;  he  was  to  be  taken  alive, 
if  possible,  but  killed  if  he  resisted.  Dreading  lest  thou  shoulclst 
be  this  victim,  my  father,  I  sped  hither.  The  fellow  had  not  lied. 
This  house  is  surrounded.  My  horse  shied  on  reaching  your 
garden  gate,  Rhodopis,  jaded  as  he  was.  I  dismounted  and 
could  discern  behind  every  bush  the  glitter  of  weapons  and  the 
eager  eyes  of  men  lying  in  ambush.  They  allowed  us,  however, 
to  enter  unmolested." 

At  this  moment  Knakias  rushed  in,  crying:  "Important  news! 
On  my  way  to  the  Nile  to  fetch  water  with  which  to  prepare 
the  wine-cup*  I  have  just  met  a  man  who,  in  his  haste,  nearly 
ran  over  me.  It  was  an  Ethiopian,  one  of  Phanes'  boatmen, 
and  he  tells  that  just  as  he  sprang  out  of  the  boat  to  bathe  a 
royal  bark  came  alongside  and  a  soldier  asked  the  rest  of  the 
crew  in  whose  service  they  were.  On  the  helmsman  answering, 
'in  Phanes'  service,'  the  royal  boat  passed  on  slowly.  He, 
however  (the  rower,  who  was  bathing),  seated  himself  in  fun  on 
the  rudder  of  the  royal  boat  and  heard  the  Ethiopian  soldier  on 

*The  water  of  the  Nile  has  a  very  agreeable  flavor.     It  is  called  by 

traveler  the  champagne  among  the  waters.    The  ladies  of  the 

:an  s  harem  send  for  this  water  even  from  Constantinople,  and  the 

Arabs  say  that  if  Mahomet  have  drunk  thereof  he  would  have  desired 

to  live  forever. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  121 

board  say  to  another:  'Keep  that  craft  well  in  sight;  now  we 
know  where  the  bird  sits,  and  it  will  be  easy  to  catch  him. 
Remember,  Psamtik  has  promised  us  fifty  gold  rings  if  we 
bring  the  Athenian  to  Sais,  dead  or  alive.'  This  is  the  report 
of  Sebek,  who  has  been  in  your  service  seven  years,  O  Phanes." 

To  both  these  accounts  Phanes  listened  calmly. 

Rhodopis  trembled.  Aristomachus  exclaimed:  "Not  a  hair 
of  your  head  shall  be  touched,  if  Egypt  perish  for  it!"  Croesus 
advised  prudence.  A  tremendous  excitement  had  mastered 
the  whole  party. 

At  last  Phanes  broke  silence,  saying:  "Reflection  is  never 
more  necessary  than  in  a  time  of  danger.  I  have  thought  the 
matter  over,  and  see  clearly  that  escape  will  be  difficult.  The 
Egyptians  will  try  to  get  rid  of  me  quietly.  They  know  that  I 
intend  going  on  board  a  Phocoean  trireme,  which  sets  sail  for 
Sigeum  at  a  very  early  hour  to-morrow  morning, 'and  have 
therefore  no  time  to  lose,  if  they  will  seize  me.  Your  garden, 
Rhodopis,  is  entirely  surrounded,  and,  were  I  to  remain  here, 
your  house  would  no  longer  be  respected  as  a  sanctuary;  it 
would  be  searched  and  I  taken  in  it.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  a  watch  has  been  set  over  the  Phocoean  ship  also.  Blood 
shall  not  be  shed  in  vain  on  my  account." 

"But  you  dare  not  surrender!"  cried  Aristomachus. 

"No,  no;  I  have  a  plan,"  shouted  Theopompus,  the  Milesian 
merchant.  "At  sunrise  to-morrow  a  ship  sails  for  Miletus 
laden  with  Egyptian  corn,  but  not  from  Naukratis,  from  Kano- 
pus.  Take  the  noble  Persian's  horse  and  ride  thither.  We  will 
cut  a  way  for  you  through  the  garden." 

"But,"  said  Gyges,  "our  little  band  is  not  strong  enough  to 
carry  out  such  an  attempt.  We  number  in  all  ten  men,  and  of 
these  only  three  have  swords;  our  enemies,  on  the  other  hand, 
number  at  least  a  hundred,  and  are  armed  to  the  teeth." 

"Lydian!"  cried  Aristomachus,  "were  thou  ten  times  more 
faint-hearted  than  thou  art,  and  were  our  enemies  double  their 
number,  I,  at  least,  would  fight  them!" 

Phanes  grasped  his  friend's  hand.  Gyges  turned  pale. 
This  brave  warrior  had  called  him  faint-hearted;  and  again 
he  could  find  no  words  to  answer,  for  at  every  stirring  emotion 
his  tongue  failed  him.  Suddenly  the  blood  mounted  to  his 
face;  his  words  came  quickly  and  with  decision:  "Athenian, 
follow  me!  and  thou,  Spartan,  who  art  not  wont  to  use  words 


122  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

heedlessly,  call  no  man  faint-hearted  again  before  thou  knowest 
him.  Friends,  Phanesr  is  safe.  Farewell,  father!'' 

The  remaining  guests  surveyed  these  two  departing  men 
in  silent  wonder.  As  they  stood  there,  silently  listening,  the 
sound  of  two  horses  galloping  swiftly  away  fell  on  their  ear, 
and  after  a  longer  interval  a  prolonged  whistle  from  the  Nile 
and  a  cry  of  distress. 

"Where  is  Knakias?"  said  Rhodopis  to  one  of  her  slaves. 

"He  went  into  the  garden  with  Phanes  and  the  Persian," 
was  the  answer,  and  as-  it  was  being  spoken  the  old  slave  re- 
entered,  pale  and  trembling. 

"Have  you  seen  my  son?"  cried  Croesus. 

"Where  is  Phanes?" 

"I  was  to  bid  you  farewell  from  them  both." 

"Then  they  are  gone — whither?     How  was  it  possible?" 

"The  Athenian  and  the  Persian,"  began  the  slave,  "had  a 
slight  dispute  in  the  ante-room.  This  over,  I  was  told  to  divest 
both  of  their  robes.  Phanes  then  put  on  the  stranger's 
trousers,  coat,  and  girdle;  on  his  own  curls  he  placed  the 
pointed  Persian  cap.  The  stranger  wrapped  himself  in  the 
Athenian's  chiton  and  mantle,  placed  the  golden  circlet  above 
his  brow,  caused  the  hair  to  be  shaved  from  his  upper  lip,  and 
ordered  me -to  follow  him  into  the  garden.  Phanes,  whom 
in  his  present  dress  none  could  imagine  to  be  other  than  a 
Persian,  mounted  one  of  the  horses  still  waiting  before  the 
gate;  the  stranger  called  after  him:  'Farewell,  Gyges,  farewell, 
beloved  Persian!  a  pleasant  journey  to  thee,  Gyges!'  The 
servant  who  had  been  waiting  followed  on  the  other  horse.  I 
could  hear  the  clatter  of  arms  among  the  bushes,  but  the 
Athenian  was  allowed  to  depart  unmolested,  the  soldiers1,  with- 
out doubt,  believing  him  to  be  a  Persian. 

"On  returning  to  the  house  the  stranger's  orders  were: 
'Accompany  me  to  Phanes'  bark,  and  cease  not  to  call  me  by 
the  Athenian's  name.'  'But  the  boatmen  will  betray  you,'  I 
said.  'Then  go  alone  to  them,'  he  answered,  'and  command 
them  to  receive  me  as  their  master,  Phanes.'  Then  I  prayed 
him  to  allow  me  to  take  the  dress  of  the  fugitive  and  become 
a  prey  to  the  pursuers-;  but  he  would  by  no  means  allow  this, 
and  said  my  gait  and  carriage  would  betray  me.  There  alas ! 
he  spoke  truly,  for  only  the  free  man  can  walk  erect;  the  neck 
of  the  slave  is  bent;  the  schools  in  which  the  noble  and  the  free- 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  123 

born  learn  grace  and  beauty  of  movement  are  not  for  him. 
And  so  it  must  remain,  the  children  must  be  even  as  the 
fathers;  can  the  unclean  onion-root  produce  a  rose,  or  the  un- 
sightly radish  a  hyacinth?*  Constant  bondage  bows  the  neck 
of  the  slave,  but  the  consciousness  of  freedom  gives  dignity  to 
the  stature." 

"But  what  has  become  of  my  son?"  interrupted  Croesus. 

"He  would  not  accept  my  poor  offer,  and  took  his  seat  in 
the  bark,  sending  a  thousand  greetings  unto  thee,  O  king!  I 
cried  after  him:  'Farewell,  Phanes!  I  wish  thee  a  prosperous 
journey,  Phanes!'  At  that  moment  a  cloud  crossed  the  moon; 
and  from  out  the  thick  darkness1 1  heard  screams  and  cries  for 
help;  they  did  not,  however,  last  long;  a  shrill  whistle  fol- 
lowed, then  all  was  silent;  and  the  measured  strokes  of  the 
oars  were  the  only  sounds  that  fell  on  my  ear.  I  was  on  the 
point  of  returning  to  relate  what  I  had  seen,  when  the  boatman 
Sebek  swam  up  once  more  and  told  as  follows :  The  Egyptians 
had  caused  a  leak  to  be  made  in  Phanes'  boat,  and  at  a  short 
distance  from  land  it  had  filled  and  begun  to  sink.  On  the  boat- 
men crying  for  help  the  royal  bark,  which  was  following,  had 
come  up  and  taken  the  supposed  Phanes  on  board,  but  had 
prevented  the  rowers  from  leaving  their  benches.  They  all 
went  down  with  the  leaking  boat,  the  daring  Sebek  alone  ex- 
cepted.  Gyges  is  on  board  the  royal  boat;  Phanes  has 
escaped,  for  the  whistle  must  have  been  intended  for  the 
soldiers  in  ambush  at  the  garden  gate.  I  searched  the  bushes; 
the  soldiers  were  gone,  and  I  could  hear  the  sound  of  their 
voices  and  weapons  on  their  way  back  to  Sais." 

The  guests  listened  with  eager  attention  to  this  tale.  At 
its  close  a  mingled  feeling  of  relief  and  anxiety  was  felt  by  all ; 
relief  that  their  favorite  companion  had  escaped  so  fearful  a 
danger,  anxiety  for  the  brave  young  Lydian  who  had  risked 
his  life  to  save  him.  They  praised  his  generosity,  congratu- 
lated Croesus  on  possessing  such  a  son,  and  finally  agreed  in 
the  conclusion  that,  when  the  crown-prince  discovered  the  error 
into  which  his  emissaries  had  fallen,  he  must  certainly  release 
Gyges  and  even  make  him  compensation  for  what  he  had  suf- 
fered at  their  hands. 

The  friendship  already  shown  by  Amasis,  and  the  fear  in 

*From  some  verses  by  Theognis  of  Megara,  iv,  62;  died  480  B.  C. 


124  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

which  he  evidently  stood  of  the  Persian  power,  were  the 
thoughts  which  had  power  to  calm  Croesus,  who  soon  left,  in 
order  to  pass1  the  night  at  the  house  of  Theopompus,  the 
Milesian  merchant.  At  parting,  Aristomachus  said:  "Salute 
Gyges  in  my  name;  tell  him  I  ask  his  forgiveness,  and  hope 
one  day  either  to  enjoy  his  friendship,  or,  if  that  cannot  be,  to 
meet  him  as  a  fair  foe  on  the  field  of  battle." 

"Who~knows  what  the  future  may  bring?"  answered  Croesus, 
giving  his  hand  to  the  Spartan. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


The  sun  of  a  new  day  had  risen  over  Egypt,  but  was  still 
low  in  the  east;  the  copious  dew,  which,  on  the  Nile,  supplies 
the  place  of  rain,  lay  sparkling  like  jewels  on  the  leaves  and 
blossoms,  and  the  morning  air,  freshened  by  a  northwest  wind, 
invited  those  tov  enjoy  it  who  could  not  bear  the  heat  of  midday. 

Through  the  door  of  the  country-house,  now  so  well  known 
to  us,  two  female  figures  have  just  passed;  Melitta,  the  old 
slave,  and  Sappho,  the  grandchild  of  Rhodopis. 

The  latter  is  not  less  lovely  now  than  when  we  saw  her  last, 
asleep.  She  moves  through  the  garden  with  a  light,  quick 
step,  her  white  morning  robe,  with  its  wide  sleeves  falling  in 
graceful  drapery  over  her  lithe  limbs,  the  thick  brown  hair 
straying  from  beneath  the  purple  kerchief  over  her  head,  and 
a  merry,  roguish  smile  lurking  round  her  rosy  mouth  and  in 
the  dimples  of  her  cheeks  and  chin. 

She  stooped  to  pick  a  rose,  dashed  the  dew  from  it  into  the 
face  of  her  old  nurse,  laughing  at  her  naughty  trick  till  the  clear, 
bell-like  tones  rang  through  the  garden;  fixed  the  flower  in  her 
dress  and  began  to  sing  in  a  wonderfully  rich  and  sweet  voice: 

"Cupid  once  upon  a  bed 
Of  roses  laid  his  weary  head; 
Luckless  urchin!  not  to  see 
Within  the  leaves  a  slumbering  bee. 
The  bee  awak'd — with  anger  wild 
The  bee  awak'd  and  stung  the  child. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  128 

Loud  and  piteous  are  his  cries; 
To  Venus  quick  he  runs,  he  flies; 
'Oh,  mother!  I  am  wounded  through — 
I  die  with  pain — in  sooth  I  do! 
Stung  by  some  little  angry  thing, 
Some  serpent  on  a  tiny  wing. 
A  bee  it  was — for  once,  I  know, 
I  heard  a  rustic  call  it  so.'  " 

"Isn't  that  a  very  pretty  song?"  asked  the  laughing  girl. 
"How  stupid  of  little  Eros  to  mistake  a  bee  for  a  winged 
snake !  Grandmother  says  that  the  great  poet  Anacreon  wrote 
another  verse  to  this  song,  but  she  will  not  teach  it  me.  Tell 
me,  Melitta,  what  can  there  be  in  that  verse?*  There,  you  are 
smiling;  dear,  darling  Melitta,  do  sing  me  that -one  verse. 
Perhaps,  though,  you  don't  know  it  yourself?  No?  then  cer- 
tainly you  can't  teach  it  me." 

"That  is  a  new  song,"answered  the  old  woman,  evading  her 
darling's  question.  "I  only  know  the  songs  of  the  good  old 
times.  But,  hark!  did  not  you  hear  a  knock  at  the  gate?" 

"Yes,  of  course  I  did,  and'  I  think  the  sound  of  horses'  hoofs, 
too.  Go  and  see  who  seeks  admission  so  early.  Perhaps,  after 
all,  our  kind  Phanes  did  not  go  away  yesterday,  and  has  come 
to  bid  us  farewell  once  more." 

"Phanes  is  gone,"  said  Melitta,  becoming  serious,  "and 
Rhodopis  has  ordered  me  to  send  you  in  when  visitors  arrive. 
Go,  child,  that  I  may  open  the  gate.  There,  they  have  knocked 
again." 

Sappho  pretended  to  run  in,  but,  instead  of  obeying  her 
nurse's*  orders,  stopped  and  hid  herself  behind  a  rose-bush, 
hoping  to  catch  sight  of  these  early  guests.  In  the  fear  of 

*The  last  lines,  which  contain  the  point  of  this  song,  are: 

"Thus  he  spoke,  and  she,  the  while, 
Heard  him  with  a  soothing  smile; 
Then  said:    'My  infant,  if  so  much 
Thou  feel  the  little  wild  bee's  touch, 
How  must  the  heart,  ah!  Cupid,  be — 
The  hapless  heart  that's  stung  by  thee?'  "f 

•{•Translation  from  one  of  Anacreon's  songs,  the  authenticity  of 
which  has,  we  think,  erroneously,  been  questioned.  Anacreon  ed. 
Melhorn. 


126  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

needlessly  distressing  her  she  had  not  been  told  of  the  events 
of  the  previous  evening,  and  at  this  early  hour  could  only 
expect  to  see  some  very  intimate  friend  of  her  grandmother's. 
Melitta  opened  the  gate  and  admitted  a  youth  splendidly  ap- 
'pareled  and  with  fair,  curling  hair. 

It  was  Bartja,  and  Sappho  was  so  lost  in  wonder  at  his 
beauty  and  the  Persian  dress,  to  her  so  strange,  that  she 
remained  motionless  in  her  hiding-place,  her  eyes  fixed  on  his 
face.  Just  so  had  she  pictured  to  herself  Apollo  with  the  beau- 
tiful locks,  guiding  the  sun-chariot 

As  Melitta  and  the  stranger  came  nearer  she  thrust  her  little 
head  through  the  roses  to  hear  what  the  handsome  youth  was 
saying  so  kindly  in  his  broken  Greek. 

She  heard  him  ask  hurriedly  after  Croesus  and  his  son ;  and 
then,  from  Melitta's  answer,  she  gathered  all  that  had  passed 
the  evening  before,  trembled  for  Thanes',  felt  so  thankful  to  the 
generous  Gyges,  and  again  wondered  who  this  youth  in  royal 
apparel  could  possibly  be.  Rhodopis  had  told  her  about 
Cyrus'  heroic  deeds,  the  fall  of  Croesus  and  the  power  and 
wealth  of  the  Persians,  but  still  she  had  always  fancied  them 
a  wild,  uncultivated  people.  Now,  however,  her  interest  in 
Persia  increased  with  every  look  at  the  handsome  Bartja.  At 
last  Melitta  went  in  to  wake  her  grandmother  and  announce 
the  guest,  and  Sappho  tried  to  follow  her,  but  Eros,  the  foolish 
boy  whose  ignorance  she  had  been  mocking  a  moment  before, 
had  other  intentions.  Her  dress  caught  in  the  thorns,  and  be- 
fore she  could  disengage  it  the  beautiful  Bartja  was  standing 
before  her,  helping  her  to  get  free  from  the  treacherous  bush. 

Sappho  could  not  speak  a  word  even  of  thanks ;  she  blushed 
deeply,  and  stood,  smiling  and  ashamed,  with  downcast  eyes. 

Bartja,  too,  generally  so  full  of  fun  and  spirit,  looked  down 
at  her  without  speaking,  the  color  mounting  to  his  cheeks. 
,  The  silence,  however,  did  not  last  long,  for  Sappho,  recover- 
ing from  her  fright,  burst  into  a  laugh  of  childish  delight  at  the 
silent  stranger  and  the  odd  scene,  and  fled  toward  the  house 
like  a  timid  fawn. 

In  a  moment  Bartja  was  himself  again;  in  two  strides  he 
reached  the  young  girl;  quick  as  thought  he  seized  her  hand 
and  held  it  fast,  notwithstanding  all  her  struggles. 

"Let  me  go!"  she  cried,  half  in  earnest  and  half  laughing, 
raising  her  dark  eyes  appealingly  to  him. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  127 

"Why  should  I?"  he  answered.  "I  took  you  from  the  rose- 
bush and  shall  hold  you  fast  until  you  give  me  your  sister  there, 
the  other  rose,  from  your  bosom,  to  take  home  with  me  as  a 
keepsake." 

"Please  let  me  go,"  repeated  Sappho.     "I  will  promise  noth- 
ing unless- you  let  my  hand  go." 
9  "But  if  I  do  you  will  not  run  away  again?" 


0$     "Certainly  not." 

V  »/ 


"Well,  then,  I  will  give  you  your  liberty,  but  now  you  must 
^7  give  me  your  rose." 

"There. are  plenty  on  the  bush  yonder,  and  more  beautiful 
ones;  choose  whichever  you  like.  Why  do  you  want  just  this 
one?" 

"To  keep  it  carefully  in  remembrance  of  the  most  beautiful 
maiden  I  ever  saw." 

"Then  I  shall  certainly  not  give  it  to  you ;  for  those  are  not 
my  real  friends  who  tell  me  I  am  beautiful,  only  those  who  tell 
\  me  I  am  good." 

"Where  did  you  learn  that?" 

"From  my  grandmother  Rhodopis." 

"Very  well,  then,  I  will  tell  you  you  are  better  than  any  other 
maiden  in  the  whole  world." 

"How  can  you  say  such  things,  when  you  don't  know  me 
at  all?  Oh,  sometimes  I  am  very  naughty  and  disobedient. 
If  I  were  really  good  I  should  be  in-door  now  instead  of  talk- 
ing to  you  here.  My  grandmother  has  forbidden  me  ever  to 
stay  in  the  garden  when  visitors  are  here,  and  indeed  I  don't 
care  for  all  those  strange  men  who  always  talk  about  things  I 
cannot  understand." 

"Then  perhaps  you  would  like  me  to  go  away,  too?" 

"Oh,  no,  I  can  understand  you  quite  well;  though  you  can- 
'not  speak  half  so  beautifully  as  our  poor  Phanes,  for  example, 
who  was  obliged  to  escape  so  miserably  yesterday  evening,  as 
I  heard  Melitta  saying  just  this  minute." 

"Did  you  love  Phanes?" 

"Love  him?  Oh,  yes,  I  was  very  fond  of  him.  When  I  was 
little  he  always  brought  me  balls,  dolls,  and  ninepins*  from 
-Memphis  to  Sais;  and  now  that  I  am  older  he  teaches  me 

*Jointed  dolls  for  children.  "Wilkinson,"  ii,  427.  In  the  Leyden 
Museum  one  of  these  jointed  toys  is  to  be  seen  in  very  good  preserva- 
tion. 


128  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

beautiful  new  songs.  As  a  parting  gift  he  brought  me  a  tiny 
Sicilian  lap-dog,*  which  I  am  going  to  call  Argus,f  because  he 
is  so  white  and  swift-footed.  But  in  a  few  days  we  are  to  have 
another  present  from  the  good  Phanes,  for — there,  now  you 
can  see  what  I  am ;  I  was  just  going  to  let  out  a  great  secret. 
My  grandmother  has  strictly  forbidden  me  to  tell  anyone  what 
dear  little  visitors  we  are  expecting;  but  I  feel  as  if  I  had 
known  you  a  long  time  already,  and  you  have  such  kind  eyes 
that  I  could  tell  you  everything.  You  see,  when  I  am  very 
happy  I  have  no  one  in  the  whole  world  to  talk  to  about  it, 
except  old  Melitta  and  my  grandmother,  and,  I  don't  know 
how  it  is,  that,  though  they  love  me  so  much,  they 'sometimes 
cannot  understand  how  trifles  make  me  so  happy.'' 

"That  is  because  they  are  old,  and  have  forgotten  what  made 
them  happy  in  their  youth.  But  have  you  no  companions  of 
your  own  age  that  you  are  fond  of?" 

"Not  one.  Of  course  there  are  many  other  young  girls 
besides  me  in  Naukratis,  but  my  grandmother  says  I  am  not  to 
seek  their  acquaintance,  and  if  they  will  not  come  to  us  I  am 
not  to  go  to  them." 

"Poor  child!  if  you  were  in  Persia  I  could  soon  find  you 
a  friend.  I  have  a  sister  called  Atossa,  who  is  young  and  good, 
like  you." 

"Oh,  what  a  pity  that  she  did  not  come  here  with  you !  But 
now  you  must  tell  me  your  name." 

"My  name  is  Bartja." 

"Bartja!  that  is  a  strange  name!  Bartja — Bartja.  Do  you 
know  I  like  it?  How  was  the  son  of  Croesus  called,  vho  saved 
our  Phanes  so  generously?" 

"Gyges.  Darius,  Zopyrus  and  he  are  my  best  friends.  We 
have  sworn  never  to  part,  and  to  give  up  our  lives  for  one 
another,!  and  that  is  why  I  came  to-day,  so  early  and  quite  in 
secret,  to  help  my  friend  Gyges,  in  case  he  should  need  me." 

"Then  you  rode  here  for  nothing." 

*Sicilian  lap-dogs  were  much  boasted  of  among  the  ancients;  they 
appear  to  have  been  first  kept  by  the  luxurious  Sybarites. 
This  was  the  name  of  the  faithful  dog  in  the  Odyssey. 

JThe  Persians,  even  in  our  day,  form  solemn  contracts  of  friend- 
ship. Two  Persians  who  wish  to  bind  themselves  as  friends  for  the 
term  of  their  lives,  go  together  to  the  Mollah,  declare  their  intention, 
and  are  then  solemnly  blessed  by  him  as  "brader  ha,"  or  "brothers." 
Brugsch,  "Reise  nach  Persien,"  i,  p.  260. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  129 

"No,  by  Mithra,  that  indeed  I  did  not,  for  this  ride  brought 
me  to  you.  But  now  you  must  tell  me  your  name." 

"I  am  called  Sappho." 

"That  is  a  pretty  name,  and  Gyges  sings  me  sometimes 
beautiful  songs  by  a  poetess  called  Sappho.  Are  you  related 
to  her?" 

"Of  course.  She  was  the  sister*  of  my  grandfather  Charaxus, 
and  is  called  the  tenth  muse,  or  the  Lesbian  swan.  I  suppose, 
then,  your  friend  Gyges  speaks  Greek  better  than  you  do?" 

"Yes;  he  learned  Greek  and  Lydian  together  as  a  little 
child,  and  speaks  them  both  equally  well.  He  can  speak 
Persian,  too,  perfectly ;  and,  what  is  more,  he  knows  and  prac- 
tices all  the  Persian  virtues." 

"Which  are  the  highest  virtues,  then,  according  to  you 
Persians?" 

"Truth*  is  the  first  of  all ;  courage  the  second,  and  the  third 
is  obedience;  these  three,  joined  with  veneration  for  the  gods, 
have  made  us  Persians  great." 

"But  I  thought  you  worshiped  no  gods?" 

"Foolish  child!  Who  could  live  without  a  God,  without  a 
higher  ruler?  True,  they  do  not  dwell  in  houses  and  pictures 
like  the  gods  of  the  Egyptians,  for  the  whole  creation  is  their 
dwelling.  The  Divinity,  who  must  be  in  every  place,  and 
must  see  and  hear  everything,  cannot  be  confined  within 
walls."f 

*See  note  p.  84. 

tFrom  "Herodotus"  (i,  131  and  132),  and  from  many  other  sources 
we  see  clearly  that  at  the  time  of  the  Achaemenidae  the  Persians  had 
neither  temples  nor  images  of  their  gods.  Auramazda  and  Angra- 
mainjus,  the  principles  of  good  and  evil,  were  invisible  existences, 
filling  all  creation  with  their  countless  train  of  good  and  evil  spirits. 
Eternity  created  fire  and  water.  From  these  Ormuzd  (Auramazda), 
the  good  spirit,  took  his  origin.  He  was  brilliant  as  the  light,  pure  and 
good.  After  having,  in  the  course  of  twelve  thousand  years,  created 
heaven,  paradise  and  the  stars,  he  became  aware  of  the  existence  of 
an  evil  spirit,  Ahriman  (Angramainjus),  black,  unclean,  malicious  and 
emitting  an  evil  odor.  Ormuzd  determined  on  his  destruction  and  a 
fierce  strife  began,  in  which  Ormuzd  was  the  victor,and  the  evil  spirit 
lay  three  thousand  years  unconscious  from  the  effects  of  terror.  Dur- 
ing this  interval  Ormuzd  created  the  sky,  the  waters,  the  earth,  all 
useful  plants,  trees  and  herbs,  the  ox  and  the  first  pair  of  human  beings 
in  one  year.  Ahriman,  after  this,  broke  loose  and  was  overcome,  but 
not  slain.  As,  after  death,  the  four  elements  of  which  all  things  are 
composed,  earth,  air,  fire  and  water,  become  reunited  with  their  prim- 


130  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"Where  do  you  pray,  then,  and  offer  sacrifice  if  you  have  no 
temples?" 

"On  the  grandest  of  all  altars,  nature  herself;  our  favorite 
altar  is  the  summit  of  a  mountain.*  There  we  are  nearest 
to  our  own  god,  Mithra,  the  mighty  sun,  and  to  Auramazda, 
the  pure  creative  light;  for  there  the  light  lingers  latest  and 
returns  earliest  Light  alone  is  pure  and  good;  darkness  is 
unclean  and  evil.  Yet,  maiden,  believe  me,  God  is  nearest  to 
us  on  the  mountains;  they  are  His  favorite  resting-place. 
Have  you  never  stood  on  the  wooded  summit  of  a  high  moun- 
tain and  felt,  amid  the  solemn  silence  of  nature,  the  still  and 
soft,  but  awful,  breath  of  Divinity  hovering  around  you?.  Have 
you  prostrated  yourself  in  the  green  forest,  by  a  pure  spring, 
or  beneath  the  open  sky,  and  listened  for  the  voice  of  God 
speaking  from  among  the  leaves  and  waters?  Have  you 
beheld  the  flame  leaping  up  to  its  parent,  the  sun,  and  bearing 
with  it,  in  the  rising  column  of  smoke,  our  prayers  to  the 
radiant  Creator?  You  listen  now  in  wonder,  but  I  tell  you, 
you  would  kneel  and  worship,  too,  with  me,  could  I  but  take 
you  to  one  of  our  mountain-altars." 

"Oh !  if  I  could  only  go  there  with  you !  if  I  might  only  once 
look  down  from  some  high  mountain  over  all  the  woods  and 
meadows,  rivers  and  valleys.  I  think,  up  there,  where  nothing- 
could  be  hidden  from  my  eyes,  I  should  feel  an  all-seeing 
Divinity  myself.  But,  hark,  my  grandmother  is  calling.  I 
must  go." 

itive  elements;  and,  as,  at  the  resurrection  day,  everything  that  has 
been  severed  combines  once  more,  and  nothing  returns  into  oblivion, 
all  is  reunited  to  its  primitive  elements.Ahriman  could  only  have  been 
slain  if  his  impurity  could  have  been  transmuted  into  purity,  his 
darkness  into  light.  And  so  evil  continued  to  exist  and  to  produce 
impurity  and  evil  wherever  and  whenever  the  good  spirit  created  the 
pure  and  good.  This  strife  must  continue  until  the  last  day;  but  then 
Ahriman,  too,  will  become  pure  and  holy;  the  Diws  or  Daewa  (evil 
spirits)  will  have  absorbed  his  evil  and  themselves  have  ceased  to 
exist.  For  the  evil  spirits  which  dwell  in  every  human  being,  and  are 
emanations  from  Ahriman,  will  be  destroyed  in  the  punishment  in- 
flicted on  men  after  death.  From  Vuller's  "Ulmai  Islam"  and  the 
"Zend-Avesta." 

To  this  day  the  fire-altars  of  the  Parsees  are  to  be  seen  on  the 
mountains.  They  are  allowed  to  pray  whenever  fire  and  water  are 
near  at  hand.  Spiegel,  "Avesta,  Einleitung,"  ii.  "Herodotus"  (i,  132) 
mentions  also  that  the  Persians  worshiped  in  the  open  air. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  131 

"Oh,  do  not  leave  me  yet!" 

"Is  not  obedience  one  of  the  Persian  virtues?" 

"But  my  rose?" 

"Here  it  is." 

"Shall  you  remember  me?" 

"Why  should  I  not?" 

"Sweet  maiden,  forgive  me,  if  I  ask  one  more  favor." 

"Yes,  but  ask  it  quickly,  for  my  grandmother  has  just  called 
again." 

"Take  my  diamond  star  as  a  remembrance  of  this  hour." 

\J7"No,  I  dare  not" 

"Oh,  do,  do  take  it.  My  father  gave  it  to  me  as  a  reward 
the  first  time  that  I  killed  a  bear  with  my  own  hand,*  and  it 
has  been  my  dearest  treasure  till  to-day;  but  now  you  shall 
have  it,  for  you  are  dearer  to  me  than  anything  else  in  the 
world." 

Saying  this,  he  took  the  chain  and  star  from  his  breast 
and  tried  to  hang  it  around  Sappho's  neck.  She  resisted,  but 
Bartja  threw  his  arm  around  her,  kissed  her  forehead,  called 

±her  his  only  love,  and,  looking  down  deep  into  the  eyes  of 
the  trembling  child,  placed  it  round  her  neck  by  gentle  force. 

Rhodopis  called  a  third  time.  Sappho  broke  from  the  young 
prince's  embrace  and  was  running  away,  but  turned  once  more 
at  his  earnest  entreaty  and  the  question,  "When  may  I  see 
you  again?"  and  answered,  softly:  "To-morrow  morning  at 
this-  rose-bush." 

"Which  held  you  fast  to  be  my  friend." 

Sappho  sped  toward  the  house.  Rhodopis  received  Bartja 
and  communicated  to  him  all  she  knew  of  his  friend's  fate, 
after  which  the  young  Persian  departed  for  Sais. 

When  Rhodopis  visited  her  grandchild's  bed  that  evening 
she  did  not  find  her  sleeping  peacefully  as  usual;  her  lips 
moved  and  she  sighed  deeply  as1  if  disturbed  by  vexing  dreams. 

On  his  way  back  Bartja  met  Darius  and  Zopyrus,  who  had 
followed  at  once  on  hearing  of  their  friend's  secret  departure. 
They  little  guess-ed  that  instead  of  encountering  an  enemy 
Bartja  had  met  his  first  love. 

Croesus  reached  Sais  a  short  time  before  the  three  friends. 

*Kings  were  accustomed  to  reward  noble  deeds  with  such  gifts. 
"Herod.,"  iii,  130,  viii,  118.  Plutarch  "Artaxerxes,"  10,  14.  "Xenoph. 
Anab.,"  i,  2.  Robe  of  honor.  Xenoph.  "Cyrop.,"  viii,  3. 


132  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

He  went  at  once  to  the  king  and  informed  him  without  reserve 
of  the  events  of  the  preceding  evening.  Amasis  pretended 
much  surprise  at  his  son's  conduct,  assured  his  friend  that 
Gyges  should  be  released  at  once  and  indulged  in  some 
ironical  jokes  at  the  discomfiture  of  Psamtik's  attempt  to  re- 
venge himself. 

Croesus  had  no  sooner  quitted  the  king  than  the  crown- 
prince  was  announced. 


CHAPTER   X. 


Amasis  received  his  son  with  a  burst  of  laughter,  and  with- 
out noticing  Psamtik's  pale  and  troubled  countenance  shouted : 
"Did  not  I  tell  thee  that  a  simple  Egyptian  would  find  it  no 
easy  task  to  catch  such  a  Greek  fox?  I  would  have  given 
ten  cities  to  have  been  by  when  thy  captive  proved  to  be  the 
stammering  Lydian  instead  of  the  voluble  Athenian." 

Psamtik  grew  paler  and  paler,  and  trembling  with  rage 
answered,  in  a  suppressed  voice:  "Is  it  well,  my  father,  thus 
to  rejoice  at  an  affront  offered  to  thy  son?  I  swear  by  the 
eternal  gods  that  but  for  Croesus'  sake  that  shameless  Lydian 
had  not  seen  the  light  of  another  day.  But  what  is  it  to  thee 
..that  thy  son  becomes  a  laughing-stock  to  these  beggarly 
Greeks!" 

"Abuse  not  those  who  have  outwitted  thee." 

"Outwitted!     My  plan  was-  so  subtly  laid  that 

"The  finer  the  web  the  sooner  broken." 

"That  that  intriguing  Greek  could  not  possibly  have  escaped, 
if,  in  violation  of  all  established  precedents,  the  envoy  of  a 
foreign  power  had  not  taken  it  upon  himself  to  rescue  a  man 
whom  we  had  condemned." 

"There  thou  art  in  error,  my  son.  We  are  not  speaking  of 
the  execution  of  a  judicial  sentence,  but  of  the  success  or 
failure  of  an  attempt  at  personal  revenge." 

"The  agents  employed  were,  however,  commissioned  by  the 
king,  and  therefore  the  smallest  satisfaction  that  I  can  demand 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  133 

of  thee  is  to  solicit  from  Cambyses  the  punishment  of  him 
who  has  interfered  in  the  execution  of  the  royal  decrees.  In 
Persia,  where  men  bow  to  the  king's  will  as  to  the  will  of  a 
god,  this  crime  will  be  seen  in  all  its  heinousness.  The  pun- 
ishment of  Gyges  is  a  debt  which  Cambysres  owes  to  us." 

"But  I  have  no  intention  of  demanding  the  payment  of  this 
debt,"  answered  Amasis.  "On  the  contrary,  I  am  thankful 
that  Phanes  has  escaped.  Gyges  has  saved  my  soul  from  the 
guilt  of  shedding  innocent  blood,  and  thine  from  the  reproach 
of  having  revenged  thyself  meanly  on  a  man  to  whom  thy 
father  is  indebted." 

"Wilt  thou,  then,  concea]  the  whole  affair  from  Cambyses?" 

"No;  I  s-hall  mention  it  jestingly  in  a  letter,  as  my  manner 
is,  and  at  the  same  time  caution  him  against  Phanes.  I  shall 
tell  him  that  he  has  barely  escaped  my  vengeance,  and 
will,  therefore,  certainly  endeavor  to  stir  up  the  power  of  Persia 
against  Egypt;  and  shall  entreat  my  future  son-in-law  to  close 
his  ears  to  this  false  accuser.  Croesus  and  Gyges  can 
help  us  by  their  friendship  more  than  Phanes  can  injure  by 
his  hatred." 

"Is  this1,  then,  thy  final  resolve?  Can  I  expect  no  satisfac- 
tion?" 

"None.     I  abide  by  what  I  have  said." 

"Then  tremble,  not  alone  before  Phanes,  but  before  another 
— before  one  who  holds  thee  in  his  power,  and  who  himself 
is  in  ours1." 

"Thou  thinkest  to  alarm  me;  thou  wouldst  rend  the  bond 
formed  only  yesterday?  Psamtik,  Psamtik,  I  counsel  thee  to 
remember  that  thou  standest  before  thy  father  and  thy  king." 

"And  thou,  forget  not  that  I  am  thy  son!  If  thou  compelFst 
me  to  forget  that  the  gods  appointed  thee  to  be  my  father — 
if  I  can  hope  from  no  help  from  thee — then  I  will  resort  to  my 
own  weapons." 

"I  am  curious  to  learn  what  these  may  be." 

"And  I  need  not  conceal  them.  Know,  then,  that  the  oculist 
Nebenchari  is  in  our  power." 

Amasis  turned  pale. 

"Before  thou  couldst  possibly  imagine  that  Cambyses  would 
sue  for  the  hand  of  thy  daughter,  thou  sentest  this  man  to  the 
distant  realm  of  Persia,  in  order  to  rid  thyself  of  one  who  shared 
thy  knowledge  of  the  descent  of  my  so-called  sister  Nitetis. 


134  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

He  is  still  there,  and  at  a  hint  from  the  priests  will  disclose  to 
Cambyses  that  he  has  been  deceived,  and  that  thou  hast 
ventured  to  send  him,  instead  of  thine  own,  the  child  of  thy 
dethroned  predecessor,  Hophra.  All  Nebenchari's  papers  are 
in  our  possession,  the  most  important  being  the  letter  in  thine 
own  hand  promising  his  father,  who  assisted  at  Nitetis'  birth,* 
a  thousand  gold  rings  as  an  inducement  to  secrecy  even  from 
the  priests." 

"In  whose  hands  are  these  papers?"  asked  Amasis,  in  a 
freezing  tone. 

"In  the  hands  of  the  priesthood." 

"Who  speak  by  thy  mouth?" 

"Thou  hast  said  it" 

"Repeat  then  thy  requests." 

"Entreat  Cambys-es  to  punish  Gyges,  and  grant  me  free 
powers  to  pursue  the  escaped  Phanes  as  it  shall  seem  good 
in  mine  eyes." 

"Is  that  all?" 

"Bind  thyself  by  a  solemn  oath  to  the  priests  that  the 
Greeks  shall  be  prevented  from  erecting  any  more  temples 
to  their  false  gods  in  Egypt,  and  that  the  building  of  the  temple 
to  Apollo  in  Memphis  shall  be  discontinued." 

"I  expected  these  demands.  The  priests  have  discovered  a 
sharp  weapon  to  wield  against  me.  Well,  I  am  prepared  to 
yield  to  the  wishes  of  my  enemies,  with  whom  thou  has  leagued 
thyself,  but  only  on  two  conditions.  First,  I  insist  that  the 
letter  which  I  confess  to  have  written  to  the  father  of  Neben- 
chari  in  a  moment  of  inconsrideration,  be  restored  to  me.  If 
left  in  the  hands  of  thy  party  it  could  reduce  me  from  a  king  to 
the  contemptible  slave  of  priestly  intrigue." 

"That  wish  is  reasonable.  The  letter  shall  be  returned  to 
thee,  if " 

"Not  another  if!  on  the  contrary,  know  that  I  consider  thy 
petition  for  the  punishment  of  Gyges  so  imprudent  that  I  refuse 
to  grant  it.  Now,  leave  me  and  appear  not  again  before  mine 
eyes  until  I  summon  thee!  Yesterday  I  gained  a  son,  only 
to  lose  him  to-day.  Rise !  I  demand  no  tokens  of  a  love  and 

*In  ancient,  as  now  in  modern  Egypt,  midwives  seem  to  have  as- 
sisted at  the  birth  of  children.  Two  are  named  in  "Exodus,"  i  15. 
Shiphrah  and  Puah.  If  the  mother  were  a  queen,  good  fairies  and 
goddesses  were  also  present  with  their  aid,  generally  a  Hathor. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  135 

humility  which  thou  hast  never  felt  Go  to  the  priests  when 
thou  needest  comfort  and  counsel,  and  see  if  they  can  supply 
a  fathers  place.  Tell  Neithotep,  in  whose  hands  thou  art  as 
wax,  that  he  has  found  the  best  means  of  forcing  me  to  grant 
demands  which  otherwise  I  should  have  refused.  Hitherto  I 
have  been  willing  to  make  every  sacrifice  for  the  sake  of  up- 
holding Egypt's  greatness;  but  now,  when  I  see  that,  to  attain 
their  own  ends,  the  priests  can  strive  to  move  me  by  the 
threat  of  treachery  to  their  own  country,  I  feel  inclined  to 
regard  this  privileged  caste  as  a  more  dangerous  enemy  to 
Egypt  then  even  the  Persians.  Beware,  beware!  This  once, 
having  brought  danger  upon  Egypt  through  my  own  fatherly 
weakness,  I  give  way  to  the  intrigues  of  my  enemies; 
but,  for  the  future,  I  swear  by  the  great,  goddess  Neith  that  men 
shall  see  and  feel  I  am  king;  the  entire  priesthood  shall  be 
sacrificed  rather  than  the  smallest  fraction  of  my  royal  will! 
Silence — depart !" 

The  prince  left,  but  this  time  a  longer  interval  was  necessary 
before  the  king  could  regain  even  outward  cheerfulness  suffi- 
cient to  enable  him  to  appear  before  his  guests. 

Psamtik  went  at  once  to  the  commander  of  the  native  troops, 
ordered  him  to  banish  the  Egyptian  captain  who  had  failed 
in  executing  his  revengeful  plans  to  the  quarries  of  Thebais,* 
and  to  send  the  Ethiopians  back  to  their  native  country.  He 
then  hurried  to  the  high-priest  of  Neith  to  inform  him  how 
much  he  had  been  able  to  extort  from  the  king. 

Neithotep  shook  his  head  doubtfully  on  hearing  of  Amasis' 
threats,  and  dismissed  the  prince  with  a  few  words  of  exhorta- 
tion, a  practice  he  never  omitted. 

Psamtik  returned  home,  his  heart  oppressed  and  his  mind 
clouded  with  a  sense  of  unsatisfied  revenge,  of  a  new  and  un- 
happy rupture  with  his  father,  a  fear  of  foreign  derision,  a 
feeling  of  his  subjection  to  the  will  of  the  priests,  and  of  a 
gloomy  fate  which  had  hung  over  his  head  since  birth. 

His  once  beautiful  wife  was  dead;  and,  of -five  blooming 
children,  only  one  daughter  remained  to  him,  and  a  little  son, 
whom  he  loved  tenderly  and  to  whom  in  this  sad  moment  he 
felt  drawn.  For  the  blue  eyes-  and  laughing  mouth  of  his 
child  were  the  only  objects  that  ever  thawed  this  man's  icy 

*A  usual,  but  fearful  punishment  for  great  crimes,  "Diod.,"  i,  78,  iii, 
12,  14. 


136  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

heart,  and  from  these  he  now  hoped  for  consolation  and  cour- 
age on  his  weary  road  through  life. 

"Where  is  my  son?"  he  asked  of  the  first  attendant  who 
crossed  his  path. 

"The  king  has  just  sent  for  the  Prince  Necho  and  his  nurse," 
answered  the  man. 

At  this  moment  the  high  steward  of  the  prince's  household 
approached,  and  with  a  low  obeisance  delivered  to  Psamtik  a 
sealed  papyrus  letter  with  the  words:  "From  your  father,  the 
king." 

In  angry  haste  he  broke  the  yellow  wax  of  the  seal  bearing 
the  king's  name,*  and  read:  "I  have  sent  for  thy  son,  that  he 
may  not  become,  like  his  father,  a  blind  instrument  in  the 
hands  of  the  priesthood,  forgetful  of  what  is  due  to  himself  and 
his  country.  His  education  shall  be  my  care,  for  the  im- 
pressions of  childhood  affect  the  whole  of  a  man's  later  life. 
Thou  canst  see  him  if  thou  wilt,  but  I  must  be  acquainted  with 
thy  intention  beforehand." 

Psamtik  concealed  his  indignation  from  the  surrounding 
attendants  with  difficulty.  The  mere  wish  of  a  royal  father 
had,  according  to  Egyptian  custom,  as  much  weight  as  the 
strictest  command.  After  reflecting  a  few  moments  he  called 
for  huntsmen,  dogs,  bows  and  lances,  sprang  into  a  light 
chariotf  and  commanded  the  charioteer  to  drive  him  to  the 
western  marshes,  where,  in  pursuing  the  wild  beasts  of  the 

*Signet  rings  were  worn  by  the  Egyptians  at  a  very  early  period. 
Thus,  in  "Genesis,"  41,  42,  Pharaoh  puts  his  ring  on  Joseph's  hand. 
In  the  Berlin  museum  and  all  other  collections  of  Egyptian  antiquities 
numbers  of  these  rings  are  to  be  found,  many  of  which  are  more  than 
four  thousand  years  old.  Wilkinson  gives  drawings  of  a  series  of  such 
rings,  iii,  p.  374.  See,  also,  a  drawing  of  the  Ferlini  discoveries  made 
in  Nubia  and  now  in  the  Berlin  museum.  Lepsius,  "Denkmaler,"  x,  pi. 
42.  At  the  spot  where  this  treasure  was  discovered  in  1830  a  tradition 
has  already  arisen  with  respect  to  it.  Rings  have  been  found  on  the 
hands  of  many  mummies. 

tField  sports  seem  to  have  been  much  favored  by  the  kings  of  Egypt 
and  their  nobles.  Not  only  dogs  of  different  breeds,  but  wild  animals, 
such  as  leopards  and  lions,  were  trained  to  the  chase.  "Wilkinson," 
iii,  16.  A  good  drawing  of  a  lion-hunt  is  to  be  found  in  Rosellini, 
"Mon.  Stor.,"  ii,  pi.  129.  A  lion  shot  by  the  Pharaoh  lies  dying  near 
him,  the  arrows;  quivering  in  his  body;  and  another  wounded  lion  is 
escaping  into  the  rushes  by  the  water.  Hunting-dogs  of  different 
kinds,  see  "Wilkinson,"  iii,  32,  and  also  iii,  22,  where  wild  goats,  ga- 
zelles and  other  graminivorous  animals  are  being  hunted.  Rosellini, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  137 

desert,  he  could  forget  the  weight  of  his  own  cares  and  wreak 
on  innocent  creatures  his  hitherto  baffled  vengeance. 

Gyges  was  released  immediately  after  the  conversation  be- 
tween his  father  and  Amasis,  and  welcomed  with  acclamations 
of  joy  by  his  companions.  The  Pharaoh  seemed  desirous  of 
atoning  for  his  imprisonment  of  his  friend's  son  by  doubling 
his  favors,  for  on  the  same  day  Gyges  received  from  the  king 
a  magnificent  chariot  drawn  by  two  noble  brown  steeds,*  and 
was  begged  to  take  back  with  him  to  Persia  a  curiously 
wrought  set  of  draughts,  as  a  remembrance  of  Sais.  The 
separate  pieces  were  made  of  ebony  and  ivory,  some  being 
curiously  inlaid  with  sentences,  in  hieroglyphics  of  gold  and 
silver. 

Amasis  laughed  heartily  with  his  friends  at  Gyges'  artifice, 
allowed  the  young  heroes  to  mix  freely  with  his  family,  and 
behaved  toward  them  himself  as  a  jcvial  father  toward  his 
merry  sons.  That  the  ancient  Egyptian  was  not  quite  ex- 
tinguished in  him  could  only  be  discerned  at  meal  times,  when 
a  separate  table  was  allotted  to  the  Persians.  The  religion 
of  his  ancestors  would  have  pronounced  him  defiled  had  he 
eaten  at  the  same  table  with  men  of  another  nation.f 

When  Amasis,  at  last,  three  days  after  the  release  of  rGyges, 
declared  that  his  daughter  Nitetis  would  be  prepared  to  depart 
for  Asia  in  the  course  of  two  more  weeks,  all  the  Persians 
regretted  that  their  stay  in  Egypt  was-  so  near  its  close. 

Croesus  had  enjoyed  the  society  of  the  Samian  poet  and 
sculptors.  Gyges  had  shared  his  father's  preference  for  Greek 
art  and  artists.  Darius,  who  had  formerly  studied  astronomy 

"Mon.  Civ.,"  pi.  15,  18.  Birds  are  being  caught  with  nets  and  the 
boomerang.  "Wilkinson,"  iii,  38,  39,  41,  42.  Lepsius,  "Denkmaler, 
Abth.,"  ii,  pi.  131,  132.  Hunting-scenes  from  Benihassan. 

*Some  especially  fine  paintings  of  horses  in  rich  trappings,  evident- 
ly by  an  artist's  hand,  are  to  be  found  on  the  monuments  at  Thebes. 
See  Rosellini,  "Mon.  Stor.,"  i,  plate  78.  Lepsius,  "Denkmaler,"  iii, 
126  and  following,  and  the  "Description  de  1'Egypte  Ant,"  ii  and  iii. 
(Thebes). 

f'Herodotus,"  ii,  41,  says  that  the  Egyptians  neither  kissed  nor  ate 
out  of  the  same  dish  with  foreigners,  nay,  indeed,  that  they  refused 
to  touch  meat  in  the  cutting  up  of  which  the  knife  of  a  Greek  had  been 
used.  Nor  were  the  lesser  dynasties  of  the  delta  allowed  according 
to  the  Stela  of  Pianchf,  to  cross  the  threshold  of  the  Pharaohs,  because 
they  were  unclean  and  ate  fish.  In  the  book  of  Genesis,  the  brethren 
of  Joseph  were  not  allowed  to  eat  bread  with  the  Egyptians, 


138  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

in  Babylon,*  was  one  evening  observing  the  heavens,  when 
to  his  surprise,  he  was  addressed  by  the  aged  Neithotep  and 
invited  to  follow  him  onto  the  temple  roof.  Darius,  ever  eager 
to  acquire  knowledge,  did  not  wait  to  be  asked  twice,  and  was 
to  be  found  there  every  night  in  earnest  attention  to  the  old 
priest's  lesson. 

On  one  occasion  Psamtik  met  him  thus  with  his  master  and 
asked  the  latter  what  could  have  induced  him  to  initiate  a 
Persian  in  the  Egyptian  mysteries. 

"I  am  only  teaching  him,"  answered  the  high-priest,  "what 
is  as  well  known  to  every  learned  Chaldee  in  Babylon  as  to 
ourselves,  and  am  thereby  gaining  the  friendship  of  a  man 
whose  stars  as  far  outshine  those  of  Cambys-es  as  the  sun  out- 
shines the  moon.  This  Darius,  I  tell  thee,  will  be  a  mighty 
ruler.  I  have  even  seen  the  beams  of  his  planet  shining  over 
Egypt.  The  truly  wise  man  extends  his  gaze  into  the  future  and 
regards  the  objects  lying  on  either  side  of  his  road  as  well  as 
the  road  itself.  Thou  canst  not  know  in  which  of  the  many 
houses  by  which  thou  passest  daily  a  future  benefactor  may 
not  have  been  reared  for  thee.  Leave  naught  unnoticed  that 
lies  in  thy  path,  but  above  all  direct  thy  gaze  upward  to  the 
stars.  As  the  faithful  dog  lies  in  wait  night  after  night  for 
thieves,  so  have  I  watched  these  pilgrims  of  the  heavens  fifty 
years  long — these  foretellers  of  the  fates  of  men,  burning  in 
ethereal  space,  and  announcing,  not  only  the  return  of  summer 
and  winter,  but  the  arrival  of  good  and  bad  fortune,  honor 
and  disgrace.  These  are  the  unerring  guides  who  have  pointed 
out  to  me  in  Darius  a  plant  that  will  one  day  wax  into  a  mighty 
tree." 

To  Bartja,  Darius'  nightly  studies  were  especially  welcome; 
they  necessitated  more  sleep  in  the  morning,  and  so  rendered 
Bartja^s  stolen  early  rides  to  Naukratis  (on  which  Zopyrus,  to 
whom  he  had  confided  his-  secret,  accompanied  him)  easier  of 
accomplishment.  During  the  interviews  with  Sappho,  Zopyrus- 
and  the  attendants  used  all  their  endeavors  to  kill  a  few  snipes, 

*The  Chaldeans  of  Babylon  were  the  next  best  astronomers  to  the 
Egyptians.  Aristoteles  "De  Caelo,"  ii,  12.  Chasles  maintains  that 
they  made  use  of  astronomical  tables.  "Comptes  Rendus  de  1'Acade- 
mie  des  Sciences,"  T.  xxiii,  1846,  pp.  852-854.  According  to  Herodotus, 
Darius  was  well  affected  by  the  Egyptians  and  held  their  wisdom  in 
high  estimation, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  139 

jackals  or  jerboas.  They  could  then,  on  their  return,  maintain 
to  their  Mentor  Croesus  that  they  had  been  pursuing  field- 
sports,  the  favorite  occupation  of  the  Persian  nobility. 

The  change  which  the  power  of  a  first  love  had  wrought 
in  the  innermost  character  of  Bartja  passed  unnoticed  by  all 
but  Tachot,  the  daughter  of  Amasis.  From  the  first  day  on 
which  they  had  spoken  together  she  had  loved  him,  and  her 
quick  feeling  told  her  at  once  that  something  had  happened 
to  estrange  him  from  herself.  Formerly  his  behavior  had  been 
that  of  a  brother,  and  he  had  sought  her  companionship,  but 
now  he  carefully  avoided  every  approach  to  intimacy,  for  he 
had  guessed  her  secret  and  felt  as  if  even  a  kind  look  would 
have  been  an  offense  against  his  loyalty  to  Sappho. 

In  her  distress  at  this  change  Tachot  confided  her  sorrows 
to  Nitetis.  The  latter  bade  her  take  courage,  and  the  two  girls 
built  many  a  castle  in  the  air,  picturing  to  themselves  the  hap- 
piness of  being  always  together  at  one  court,  and  married  to 
t\vo  royal  brothers.  But,  as  the  days  went  by,  the  visits  of  the 
handsome  prince  became  more  and  more  rare,  and,  when  he 
did  come,  his  behavior  to  Tachot  was-  cold  and  distant. 

Yet  the  poor  girl  could  not  but  confess  that  Bartja  had  grown 
handsomer  and  more  manly  during  his  stay  in  Egypt.  An 
expression  of  proud  and  yet  gentle  consciousness  lay  beaming 
in  his  large  eyes,  and  a  strange,  dreamy  air  of  rest  often  to'ok 
the  place  of  his  former  gay  spirits.  His*  cheeks  had  lost  their 
brilliant  color,  but  that  added  to  his  beauty,  while  it  lessened 
hers,  who,  like  him,  became  paler  from  day  to  day. 

Melitta,  the  old  slave,  had  taken  the  lovers  under  her  pro- 
tection. She  had  surprised  them  one  morning,  but  the  prince 
had  given  her  such  presents  and  her  darling  had  begged, 
flattered  and  coaxed  so  sweetly,  that  at  last  Melitta  promised 
to  keep  their  secret,  and  later,  yielding  to  that  natural  impulse 
which  moves  all  old  women  to  favor  lovers,  had  even  given 
them  every  assistance  in  her  power.  She  already  saw  her 
"sweet  child"  mistress  of  a  hemisphere,  often  addressed  her  as 
"my  princess''  and  "my  queen"  when  none  was  by  to  hear,  and 
in  many  a  weak  moment  imagined  a  brilliant  future  for  herself 
in  some  high  office  at  the  Persian  court. 


140  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 


CHAPTER   XL 


Three  days  before  the  time  fixed 'for  the  departure  of  Nitetis, 
Rhodopis  had  invited  a  large  number  of  guests  to  her  house 
at  Naukratis,  among  whom  Croesus  and  Gyges  were  included. 

The  two  lovers  had  agreed  to  meet  in  the  garden,  protected 
by  the  darkness  and  the  old  slave,  while  the  guests  were  occu- 
pied at  the  banquet.  Melitta,  therefore,  having  convinced  her- 
self that  the  guests  were  thoroughly  absorbed  in  conversation, 
opened  the  garden  gate,  admitted  the  prince,  brought  Sappho 
to  him,  and  then  retired,  promising  to  warn  them  of  any  in- 
truder by  clapping  her  hands. 

"I  shall  only  have  you  near  me  three  days  longer,"  whispered 
Sappho.  "Do  you  know,  sometimes  it  seems  to  me  as  if  I 
had  only  seen  you  yesterday  for  the  first  time;  but  generally 
I  feel  as  if  you  had  belonged  to  me  for  a  whole  eternity,  and  I 
had  loved  you  all  my  life." 

"To  me,  too,  it  seems  as  if  you  had  always  been  miue,  for  I 
cannot  imagine  how  I  could  ever  have  existed  without  you. 
If  only  the  parting  were  over  and  we  were  together  again!'' 

"Oh,  believe  me  that  will  pass  more  quickly  than  you  fancy. 
Of  course  it  will  seem  long  to  wait — very  long;  but  when  it 
is  over,  and  we  are  together  again,  I  think  it  will  s-eem  as  if 
we  had  never  been  parted.  So  it  has  been  with  me  every  day. 
How  I  have  longed  for  the  morning  to  come  an^l  bring  you 
with  it!  but  when  it  came  and  you  were  sitting  by  my  side  I 
felt  as  if  I  had  had  you  all  the  time  and  your  hand  had  never 
left  my  head." 

"And  yet  a  strange  feeling  of  fear  comes  over  me  when  I 
think  of  our  parting  hour." 

"Ido  not  fear  it  so  very  much.  I  know  my  heart  w-ill  bleed 
when  you  say  farewell,  but  I  am  sure  you  will  come  back  and 
will  not  have  forgotten  me.  Melitta  wanted  to  inquire  of  the 
oracle  whether  you  would  remain  faithful;  and  to  question  an 
old  woman  who"  has  just  come  from  Phrygia  and  can  conjure 
by  night  from  drawn  cords,  with  incense,  styrax,  moon-shaped 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  l4l 

cakes  and  wild-briar  leaves;*  but  I  would  have  none  of  this, 
for  my  heart  knows  better  than  the  Pythia,  the  cords,  or  the 
smoke  of  sacrifice  that  you  will  be  true  to  me  and  love  me 
always." 

"And  your  heart  speaks  the  truth." 

"But  I  have  sometimes  been  afraid;  and  have  blown  into 
a  poppy-leaf,  and  struck  it,  as  the  young  girls  here  do.  If  it 
broke  with  a  loud  crack  I  was  very  happy,  and  cried:  'Ah!  he 
will  not  forget !'  but  if  the  leaf  tore  without  a  sound  I  felt  sad. 
I  dare  say,  I  did  this  a  hundred  times1,  but  generally  the  leaf 
gave  the  wished-for  sound  and  I  had  much  oftener  reason  to 
be  joyful  than  sad."f 

"May  it  ever  be  thus!" 

"It  must  be!  but,  dearest,  do  not  speak  so  loudly;  I  see 
Knakias  going  down  to  the  Nile  for  water  and  he  will  hear  us." 

"Well,  I  will  speak  low.  There,  I  will  stroke  back  your 
silky  hair  and  whisper  in  your  ear  'I  love  you.'  Could  you 
understand?" 

"My  grandmother  says  that  it  is  easy  to  understand  what 
we  like  to  hear;  but  if  you  had  just  whispered,  'I  hate  you,' 
your  eyes  would  have  told  me  with  a  thousand  glad  voices  that 
you  loved  me.  Silent  eyes  are  much  more  eloquent  than  all 
the  tops  of  the  palm-trees  in  the  Nile  and  the  moon's  reflec- 

"If  I  could  only  speak  the  beautiful  Greek  language  as  you 
do,  I  would — 

"Oh,  I  am  so  glad  you  cannot,  for  if  you  could  tell  me  all 
you  feel  I  think  you  would  not  look  into  my  eyes  so  lovingly. 
Words  are  nothing.  Listen  to  the  nightingale  yonder!  She 
never  had  the  gift  of  speech  and  yet  I  think  I  can  understand 
her." 

"Will  you  confide  her  secret  to  me?  I  should  like  to  know 
what  Gulgul,  as  we  Persians,  call  the  nightingale,  has  to  talk 

"These  are  the  spells  which  "Glycera  desired  to  consult,  when  her 
lover,  the  tragic  poet  Menander,  was  called  to  Egypt  by  King  Ptolemy. 
Her  letter  is  as  clever  as  it  is  charming.  "Alciphr.,"  ii,  Ep.  4.  I 
would  mention  also  the  beautiful  poem  by  Theokritus  on  the  love- 
sick girl  and  her  spells. 

fThis  questioning  of  flowers  reminds  us  of  the  way  'in  which  chil- 
dren and  girls  nowadays  pull  the  leaves  of  the  acacia  and  the  petals 
of  the  daisy,  and  was  not  unusual  among  the  ancients.  "Pollux,"  ix, 
27.  Becker,  "Charikles,"  i,  327.  In  modern  Greece  the  young  girls 
are  said  to  still  consult  the  same  oracles. 


142  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

about  to  Jier  mate  in  the  rose-bush.  May  you  betray  her 
secret?" 

"I  will  whisper  it  softly.  Philomel  sings  to  her  mate  'I  love 
thee,'  and  he  answers  (don't  you  hear  him?),  'Itys,  ito,  itys.'" 

"And  what  does  that  mean,  'ito,  ito?'" 

"I  accept  it." 

"And  itys?" 

"Oh,  that  must  be  explained,  to  be  rightly  understood.  Itys 
is  a  circle ;  and  a  circle,  I  was  always  taught,  is  the  symbol  of 
eternity,  having  neither  beginning  nor  end;  so  the  nightingale 
sings,  'I  accept  it  for  eternity.' " 

"And  if  I  say  to  you,  'I  love  thee?'" 

"Then  I  shall  answer  gladly,  like  the  sweet  nightingale, 
'I  accept  it  for  to-day,  to-morrow,  for  all  eternity !' " 

"What  a  wonderful  night  it  is!  everything  so  still  and  silent; 
I  do  not  even  hear  the  nightingale  now;  she  is  sitting  in  the 


Thus  Aeschylus  renders  the  sweet  song  of  the  nightingale.  The 
ingenious  interpretation  of  the  words  ITVS,  ITU,  is  a  playful  idea 
which  we  can  venture  to  put  into  the  mouth  of  our  child-like  Sappho. 
The  Itys-call  of  the  nightingale  had,  however,  originally  a  very  dif- 
ferent signification.  Philomela  is  bemoaning  the  boy  Itys,  who  had 
been  slain  to  revenge  her  wrongs  on  his  father.  Prokne,  the  sister  of 
Philomela  and  daughter  of  the  Athenian,  Pandion,  was  the  wife  of 
Tereus  of  Daulis  in  Thrace.  Itys  was  their  son.  Tereus,  having  to 
conduct  Philomela  to  her  sister,  used  violence  toward  the  maiden  on 
the  way  thither,  cut  out  her  tongue  to  prevent  her  from  revealing  his 
conduct,  and  left  her  in  the  wood.  Philomela,  however,  wove  the  story 
of  her  wrongs  into  a  garment,  by  means  of  which  she  informed  her  sis- 
ter Prokne  of  Tereus'  baseness.  On  discovering  this,  Prokne  killed  her 
own  child,  Itys,  and  caused  his  flesh  to  be  served  up  as  a  dish  for  her 
husband.  The  sisters  then  fled  and  were  pursued  by  Tereus  on  his 
discovering  that  he  had  eaten  his  own  son.  They  prayed  to  the  gods, 
who  granted  their  petition,  and  transformed  them,  together  with 
Tereus,  into  birds.  According  to  the  original  myth,  Prokne  fled  into 
the  forest  in  the  form  of  a  nightingale  and  bewailed  her  sacrificed 
Itys.  Philomela  was  turned  into  a  swallow,  who,  from  th'e  loss  of  her 
tongue,  could  only  twitter  and  cry  "Tereu."  Tereus  became  a  hoopoe, 
whose  perpetual  call  (referring  to  his  lost  son)  was  "pou?"  "where?" 
The  punishments  of  entire  and  of  semi-sleeplessness  were  imposed  on 
the  nightingale  and  the  swallow.  The  accounts  differ  as  to  which 
sister  became  the  nightingale.  Ovid,  who  gives  the  whole  story  in  a 
most  charming  form  ("Metamorphoses,"  vi,  425  seq.)  leaves  the  ques- 
tion undecided.  But  he,  too  ("Amores,"  ii,  6,  7-10),  assumes  that  Phil- 
omela became  a  nightingale,  and  this  has  since  become  the  universal 
belief. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  143 

acacia-tree  among  the  bunches  of  sweet  blossoms.  I  can  see 
the  tops  of  the  palm-trees  in  the  Nile  and  the  moon's  reflec- 
tion between  them  glistening  like  a  white  swan." 

"Yes,  her  rays  are  over  every  living  thing  like  silver  fetters, 
and  the  whole  world  lies  motionless  beneath  them  like  a  captive 
woman.  Happy  as  I  feel  now,  yet  I  could  not  even  laugh,  and 
still  less-  speak  in  a  loud  voice." 

"Then  whisper,  or  sing!" 

"Yes,  that  is  the  best.  Give  me  my  lyre.  Thank  you. 
Now  I  will  lean  my  head  on  your  breast  and  sing  you  a  little, 
quiet,  peaceful  song.  It  was  written  by  Alkman,*  the  Lydian, 
who  lived  in  Sparta,  in  praise  of  night  and  her  stillness.  You 
must  listen  though,  for  this  low,  sweet  slumber-song  must  only 
leave  the  lips  like  a  gentle  wind.  Do  not  kiss  me  any  more, 
please,  till  I  have  finished;  then  I  will  ask  you  to  thank  me 
with  a  kiss: 

"  'Now  o'er  the  drowsy  earth  still  night  prevails, 
Calm  sleep  the  mountain  tops  and  shady  vales, 
The  rugged  cliffs  and  hollow  glens; 
The  wild  beasts  slumber  in  their  dens; 
The  cattle  on  the  hill.    Deep  in  the  sea 

The  countless  finny  race  and  monster  brood 
Tranquil  repose.    Even  the  busy  bee  * 

Forgets  her  daily  toil.    The  silent  wood 
No  more  with  noisy  hum  of  insect  rings; 

And  all  the  feathered  tribe,  by  gentle  sleep  subdued, 
Roost  in  the  glade  and  hang  their  drooping  -wings.' 

— Translation  by  Col.  Mure. 

"Now,  dearest,  where  is  my  kiss?" 

"I  had  forgotten  it  in  listening,  just  as  before  I  forgot  to 
listen  in  kissing." 

"You  are  too  bad.     But  tell  me,  is  not  my  song  lovely?" 

"Yes,  beautiful,  like  everything  else  you  sing." 

"And  the  Greek  poets  write." 

"Yes,  there  you  are  right,  too,  I  admit." 

"Are  there  no  poets  in  Persia?" 

"How  can  you  ask  such  a  question?  How  could  a  nation 
who  despised  song  pretend  to  any  nobility  of  feeling?" 

"But  you  have  some  very  bad  customs." 

"Well?" 

*See  note  p.  4. 


144  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"You  take  so  many  wives." 

"My  Sappho— 

"Do  not  misunderstand  me.  I  love  you  so  much,  that  I 
have  no  other  wish  than  to  see  you  happy  and  be  allowed  to  be 
always  with  you.  If,  by  taking  me  for  your  only  wife,  you 
would  outrage  the  laws  of  your  country,  if  you  would  thereby 
expose  yourself  to  contempt,  or  even  blame  (for  who  could 
dare  to  despise  my  Bartja)  then  take  other  wives;  but  let  me 
have  you,  for  myself  alone,  at  least  two,  or  perhaps  even  three 
years.  Will  you  promise  this,  Bartja?" 

"I  will." 

"And  then,  when  my  time  has  passed  and  you  must  yield 
to  the  customs  of  your  country  (for  it  will  not  be  love  that  leads 
you  to  bring  home  a  second  wife),  let  me  be  the  first  among 
your  slaves.  Oh !  I  have  pictured  that  so  delightfully  to  myself. 
When  you  go  to  war  I  shall  set  the  tiara  on  your  head,  gird  on 
the  sword,  and  place  the  lance  in  your  hand;  and  when  you 
return,  a  conqueror,  I  shall  be  the  first  to  crown  you  with  the 
wreath  of  victory.  When  you  ride  out  to  the  chase  mine  will 
be  the  duty  of  buckling  on  your  spurs,  and,  when  you  go  to  the 
banquet,  of  adorning  and  anointing  you,  winding  the  garlands 
of  poplar  and  ros-es  and  twining  them  around  your  forehead 
and  shoulders.  If  wounded  I  will  be  your  nurse;  will  never 
stir  from  your  side  if  you  are  ill,  and  when  I  see  you  happy  will 
retire  and  feast  my  eyes  from  afar  on  your  glory  and  happiness. 
Then,  perchance,  you  will  call  me  to  your  side,  and  your  kiss 
will  say:  'I  am  content  with  my  Sappho,  I  love  her  still.'" 

"O  Sappho,  wert  thou  only  my  wife  now — to-day!  The 
man  who  possesses*  such  a  treasure  as  I  have  in  thee  will  guard 
it  carefully,  but  never  care  to  seek  for  others  which,  by  its  side, 
can  only  show  their  miserable  poverty.  He  who  has  once 
loved  thee  can  never  love  another;  I  know  it  is  the  custom  in 
my  country  to  have  many  wives,  but  this  is  only  allowed;  there 
is  no  law  to  enjoin  it.  My  father  had,  it  is  true,  a  hundred 
female  slaves-,  but  only  one  real,  true  wife,  our  mother  Kass- 
andane." 

"And  I  will  be  your  Kassandane." 

"No,  my  Sappho,  for  what  you  will  be  to  me  no  woman  ever 
yet  was  to  her  husband." 

"When  shall  you  come  to  fetch  me?" 

"As  soon  as  I  can,  and  am  permitted  to  do  so." 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  145 

"Then  I  ought  to  be  able  to  wait  patiently." 

"And  I  shall  ever  hear  from  you?" 

"Oh,  I  shall  write  long,  long  letters  and  charge  every  wind 
with  love  messages  for  you." 

"Yes,  do  so,  my  darling,  and  as  to  the  letters1,  give  them  to 
the  messenger  who  will  bring  Nitetis  tidings  from  Egypt  from 
time  to  time." 

"Where  shall  I  find  him?" 

"I  will  see  that  a  man  is  stationed  at  Naukratis  to  take  charge 
of  everything  you  send  to  him.  All  this  I  will  settle  with 
Melitta." 

"Yes,  we  can  trust  her,  she  is  prudent  and  faithful;  but  I 
have  another  friend,  who  is  dearer  to  me  than  anyone  else 
excepting  you,  and  who  loves  me,  too,  better  than  anyone 
else  does  but  you " 

"You  mean  your  grandmother  Rhodopis?" 

"Yes,  my  faithful  guardian  and  teacher." 

"Ah!  she  is  a  noble  woman.  Croesus  considers  her  the 
most  excellent  among  women,  and  he  has  studied  mankind 
as  the  physicians  do  plants  and  herbs.  He  knows  that  rank 
poison  lies  hidden  in  some,  in  others  healing  cordials,  and  often 
says  that  Rhodopis  is  like  a  rose,  which,  while  fading  away  her- 
self and  dropping  leaf  after  leaf,  continues  to  shed  perfume  and 
quickening  balsam  for  the  sick  and  weak  and  awaits  in  patience 
the  wind  which  at  last  shall  waft  her  from  us." 

"The  gods  grant  that  she  may  be  with  us  for  a  long  time 
yet!  Dearest,  will  you  grant  me  one  great  favor?" 

"It  is  granted  before  I  hear  it." 

"When  you  take  me  home  do  not  leave  Rhodopis  here. 
She  must  come  with  us.  She  is  so  kind  and  loves  me  so 
fervently  that  what  makes  me  happy  will  make  her  so,  too, 
and  whatever  is  dear  to  me  will  seem  to  her  worthy  of  being 
loved.'' 

"She  shall  be  the  first  among  our  guests." 

"Now  I  am  quite  happy  and  satisfied,  for  I  am  necessary 
to  my  grandmother;  she  could  not  live  without  her  child.  I 
laugh  her  cares  and  sorrows  away,  and  when  she  is  singing 
to  me,  or  teaching  me  how  to  guide  the  style  or  strike  the  lute, 
a  clearer  light  beams  from  her  brow,  the  furrows  plowed  by 
grief  disappear,  her  gentle  eyes  laugh,  and  she  seems  to  forget 
the  evil  past  in  the  happy  present." 


146  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"Before  we  part  I  will  ask  her  whether  she  will  follow  us 
home." 

"Oh,  how  glad  that  makes  me !  And  do  you  know  the  first 
days  of  our  abse\ice  from  each  other  do  not  seem  so  very 
dreadful  to  me?  Now  you  are  to  be  my  husband,  I  may 
surely  tell  you  everything  that  pains  or  pleases-  me,  even  when 
I  dare  not  tell  anyone  else,  and  so  you  must  know  that  when 
you  leave  we  expect  two  little  visitors.  They  are  the  children 
of  the  kind  Phanes  whom  your  friend  Gyges  saved  so  nobly. 
I  mean  to  be  like  a  mother  to  the  little  creatures,  and  when 
they  have  been  good  I  shall  sing  them  a  story  of  a  prince,  a 
brave  hero,  who  took  a  simple  maiden  to  be  his  wife;  and 
when  I  describe  the  prince  I  shall  have  you  in  my  mind,  and, 
though  my  little  listeners  will  not  guess  it,  I  shall  be  describing 
you  from  head  to  foot.  My  prince  shall  be  tall  like  you,  shall 
have  your  golden  curls  and  blue  eyes,  and  your  rich,  royal 
dress  shall  adorn  his  noble  figure.  Your  generous  heart,  your 
love  of  truth,  and  your  beautiful  reverence  for  the  gods,  vour 
courage  and  heroism;  in  short,  everything  that  I  love  and 
honor  in  you  I  shall  give  to  the  hero  of  my  tale.  How  the 
children  will  listen!  and  when  they  cry,  'Oh,  how  we  love  the 
prince,  how  good  and  beautiful  he  must  be,  if  we  could  only 
see  him!'  then  I  shall  press  them  close  to  my  heart  and  kiss 
them  as  I  kiss  you  now,  and  so  they  will  have  gained  their  wish, 
for  as  you  are  enthroned  in  my  heart  you  must  be  living 
within  me  and  therefore  near  to  them,  and  when  they  embrace 
me  they  will  embrace  you,  too." 

"And  I  shall  go  to  my  little  sister  Atossa  and  tell  her  all 
I  have  seen  on  my  journey,  and  when  I  speak  of  the  Greeks, 
their  grace,  their  glorious  works  of  art,  and  their  beautiful 
women,  I  shall  describe  the  golden  Aphrodite  in  your  lovely 
likeness.  I  shall  tell  her  of  your  virtue,  your  beauty  and 
modesty,  of  your  singing,  which  is  so  sweet  that  even  the 
nightingale  is  silent  in  order  to  listen  to  it,  of  your  love  and 
tenderness.  But  all  this  I  shall  tell  her  belongs  to  the  divine 
Cypris,  and  when  she  cries,  'O  Aphrodite,  could  I  but  see 
thee !'  I,  too,  shall  kiss  my  sister." 

"Hark!  what  was  that?  Melitta  surely  clapped  her  hands. 
Farewell,  we  must  not  stay!  but  we  shall  soon  see  each  other 
again." 

"One  more  kiss!" 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  147 

"Farewell!" 

'  Melitta  had  fallen  asleep  at  her  post,  overcome  by  age  and 
weariness.  Her  dreams  were  suddenly  disturbed  by  a  loud 
noise,  and  she  clapped  her  hands  directly  to  warn  the  lovers 
and  call  Sappho,  as  she  perceived  by  the  stars  that  the  dawn 
was  not  far  off. 

As  the  two  approached  the  house  they  discovered  that  the 
noise  which  had  awakened  the  old  slave  proceeded  from  the 
guests,  who  were  preparing  for  departure. 

Urging  her  to  make  the  greatest  haste,  Melitta  pushed  the 
frightened  girl  into  the  house,  took  her  at  once  to  her  sieeping- 
room,  and  was  beginning  to  undress  her  when  Rhodopis  en- 
tered. 

"You  are  still  up,  Sappho?"  she  asked.  "What  is  this,  m'y 
child?" 

Melitta  trembled,  and  had  a  falsehood  ready  on  her  lips, 
but  Sappho,  throwing  herself  into  her  grandmother's  arms, 
embraced  her  tenderly  and  told  the  whole  story  of  her  love. 

Rhodopis  turned  pale,  ordered  Melitta  to  leave  the  cham- 
ber, and,  placing  herself  in  front  of  her  grandchild,  laid  both 
hands  on  her  shoulders  and  said,  earnestly:  "Look  into  my 
eyes,  Sappho.  Canst  thou  look  at  me  as  happily  and  as 
innocently  as  thou  couldst  before  this  Persian  came  to  us?" 

The  girl  raised  her  eyes  at  once  with  a  joyful  smile;  then 
Rhodopis  clasped  her  to  her*bosom,  kissed  her  and  continued: 
"Since  thou  wert  a  little  child  my  constant  effort  has  been  to 
train  thee  to  a  noble  maidenhood  and  guard  thee  from  the 
approach  of  love.  I  had  intended,  in  accordance  with  the 
customs  of  our  country,*  to  choose  a  fitting  husband  for  thee 
shortly  myself,  to  whose  care  I  should  have  committed  thee; 
but  the  gods  willed  differently.  Eros  mocks  all  human  efforts 
to  resist  or  confine  him;  warm  Aeolianf  blood  runs  in  thy 
veins  and  demands  love;  the  passionate  heart  of  thy  Lesbian 
forefathers  beats  in  thy  breast..  What  has  happened  cannot 
now  be  undone.  Treasure  these  happy  hours  of  a  first,  pure 

*The  Spartans  married  for  love,  but  the  Athenians  were  accustomed 
to  negotiate  their  marriages  with  the  parents  of  the  bride  alone.  This 
custom  was  either  the  cause  or  the  result  of  the  very  secluded  life  led 
by  the  Athenian  girls. 

tCharaxus,  the  grandfather  of  our  heroine  and  brother  of  the 
poetess  Sappho,  was,  as  a  Lesbian,  an  Aeolian  Greek. 


148  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

love;  hold  them  fast  in  the  chambers  of  memory,  for  to  every 
human  being  there  must  come,  sooner  or  later,  a  so  sad  and 
desolate  present  that  the  beautiful  past  is-  all  they  have  to  live 
upon.  Remember  this  handsome  prince  in  silence,  bid  him 
farewell  when  he  departs  to  his  native  country,  but  beware  of 
hoping  to  see  him  again.  The  Persians  are  fickle  and  incon- 
stant, lovers  of  everything  new  and  foreign.*  The  prince  has 
been  fascinated  by  thy  sweetness  and  grace.  He  loves  thee 
ardently  now,  but,  remember,  he,  is  young  and  handsome, 
courted  by  everyone,  and  a  Persian.  Give  him  up  that  he  may 
not  abandon  thee." 

"But  how  can  I,  grandmother?  I  have  sworn  to  be  faithful 
to  him  forever." 

•  "Oh,  children!  Ye  play  with  eternity  as  if  it  were  but  a 
passing  moment!  I  could  blame  thee  for  thus  plighting  thy 
troth,  but  I  rejoice  that  thou  regardest  the  oath  as  binding.  I 
detest  the  blasphemous  proverb:  'Zeus  pays  no  heed  to  lovers' 
oaths.'  Why  should  an  oath  touching  the  best  and  holiest  feel- 
ings of  humanity  be  regarded  by  the  Deity  as  inferior  in  im- 
portance to  asseverations  respecting  the  trifling  questions  of 
mine  and  thine?  Keep  thy  promise,  then — hold  fast  thy  love, 
but  prepare  to  renounce  thy  lover." 

"Never,  grandmother!  could  I  ever  have  loved  Bartja,  if  I 
had  not  trusted  him?  Just  because  he  is  a  Persian  and  holds 
truth  to  be  the  highest  virtue,  I  ynay  venture  to  hope  that  he 
will  remember  his  oath,  and,  notwithstanding  those  evil  cus- 
toms of  the  Asiatics,  will  take  and  keep  me  as  his  only  wife." 

"But  if  he  should  forget,  thy  youth  will  be  passed  in  mourn- 
ing and  with  an  embittered  heart " 

"Oh,  dear^kind  grandmother,  pray  do  not  speak  of  such 
dreadful  things-.  If  you  knew  him  as  well  as  I  do,  you  would 
rejoice  with  me  and  would  tell  me  I  was  right  to  believe  that 
the  Nile  may  dry  up  and  the  pyramids  crumble  into  ruins,  be- 
fore my  Bartja  can  ever  deceive  me !" 

The  girl  spoke  these  words  with  such  a  joyful,  perfect  con- 
fidence, and  her  eyes,  though  filled  with  tears,  were  so  bril- 
liant with  happiness  and  warmth  of  feeling  that  Rhodopis'  face 
grew  cheerful  too. 

"In  this,  -as  in  other  points,  the  Persians  prove  themselves  of  the 
Germanic  race.  They  have  the  same  admiration  fcr  everything  new 
and  strange  now,  as  in  the  days  of  Herodotus.  "Herod  "  i  135 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  149 

Sappho  threw  her  arms  again  round  her  grandmother,  told 
her  every  word  that  Bartja  had  said  to  her,  and  ended  the  long 
account  by  exclaiming:  "Oh,  grandmother,  I  am  so  happy,  so 
very  happy,  and  if  you  will  come  with  us  to  Persia  I  shall  have 
nothing  more  to  wish  from  the  immortals." 

"That  will  not  last  long,"  said  Rhodopis.  "The  gods  cast 
envious  glances  at  the  happiness  of  mortals;  they  measure  our 
portion  of  evil  with  lavish  hands,  and  give  us  but  a  scanty  al- 
lowance of  good.  But  now  go  to  bed,  my  child,  and  let  us 
.pray  together  that  all  may  end  happily.  I  met  thee  this  morn- 
ing as  a  child,  I  part  from  thee  to-night  a  woman ;  and,  when 
thou  art  a  wife,  may  thy  kiss  be  as  joyful  as  the  one  thou  givest 
me  now.  To-morrow  I  will  talk  the  matter  over  with  Croesus. 
He  must  decide  whether  I  dare  allow  thee  to  await  the  return  of 
the  Persian  prince,  or  whether  I  must  entreat  thee  to  forget 
him  and  become  the  domestic  wife  of  a  Greek  husband.  Sleep 
well,  my  darling,  thy  grandmother  will  wake  and  watch  for 
thee." 

Sappho's  happy  fancies  soon  cradled  her  to  sleep;  but  Rho- 
dopis remained  awake  watching  the  day  dawn  and  the  sun 
rise,  her  mind  occupied  with  thoughts  which  brought  smiles 
and  frowns  across  her  countenance  in  rapid  succession. 

The  next  morning  she  sent  to  Croesus,  begging  him  to  graftt 
her  an  hour's  interview,  acquainted  him  with  every  particular 
she  had  heard  from  Sappho  and  concluded  her  tale  with  these 
words:  "I  know  not  what  demands  may  be  made  on  the  con- 
sort of  a  Persian  king,  but  I  can  truly  say  that  I  believe  Sappho 
to  be  worthy  of  the  first  monarch  of  the  world.  Her  father  was 
free  and  of  noble  birth,  and  I  have  heard  that,  by  Persian  law, 
the  descent  of  a  child  is  determined  by  the  rank  of  the  father 
only.  In  Egypt,  too,  the  descendants  of  a  female  slave  enjoy 
the  same  rights  as  those  of  a  princess,  if  they  owe  their  exist- 
ence to  the  same  father."* 

"I  have  listened  to  you  in  silence,"  answered  Croesus,  "and 
must  confess  that,  like  yourself,  I  do  not  know  in  this  moment 
whether  to  be  glad  or  sorry  for  this  attachment.  Cambyses  and 
Kassandane  (the  king's  and  Bartja's  mother)  wished  to  see  the 
prince  married  before  we  left  Persia,  for  the  king  has1  no  chil- 
dren, and,  should  he  remain  childless,  the  only  hope  for  the  fam- 

*"Diod.,"  i,  81. 


150  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

:Jy  cf  Cyrus  rests  on  Bartja,  as  the  great  founder  of  the  Persian 
empire  left  but  two  sons — Cambyses,  and  him  who  is  now  the 
suitor  of  your  granddaughter.  Bartja  is  the  hope  and  pride  of 
the  entire  Persian  nation,  high  and  low;  the  darling  of  the 
people;  generous  and  noble,  handsome,  virtuous  and  worthy 
of  their  love.  It  is,  indeed,  expected  that  the  princes  shall 
marry  in  their  own  family,  the  Achaemenidae ;  but  the  Persians 
have  an  abounded  predilection  for  everything  foreign.  En- 
chanted with  the  beauty  of  your  granddaughter,  and  rendered 
indulgent  by  their  partiality  for  Bartja,  they  would  easily  for- 
give this  breach  of  an  ancient  custom.  Indeed,  if  the  king  gives 
his  approval  no  objection  on  the  part  of  his  subjects  can  be 
entertained.  The  history  of  Iran,  too,  offers  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  examples  in  which  even  slaves  became  the  mothers  of 
kings.*  The  queen  mother,  whose  position,  in  the  eyes  of  the 
people,  is  nearly  as  high  as  that  of  the  monarch  himself,  will 
do  nothing  to  thwart  the  happiness  of  her  youngest  and  favorite 
son.  When  she  sees  that  he  will  not  give  up  Sappho — that  his 
smiling  face,  in  which  she  adores  the  image  of  her  great  hus- 
band Cyrus,  becomes  clouded — I  verily  believe  she  would  be 
ready  to  sanction  his  taking  even  a  Scythian  woman  to  wife,  if 
it  could  restore  him  to  cheerfulness.  Neither  will  Cambyses 
Wmself  refuse  his  consent  if  his  mother  press  the  point  at  a 
right  moment." 

"In  that  case  every  difficulty  is  set  aside,"  cried  Rhodopis, 
joyfully. 

"It  is  not  the  marriage  itself,  but  the  time  that  must  follow, 
which  causes  me  uneasiness,"  answered  Croesus, 

"Do  you  think,  then,  that  Bartja 

"From  him  I  fear  nothing.  He  has  a  pure  heart,  and  has 
been  so  long  proof  against  love,  that,  now  he  has  once  yielded, 
he  will  love  long  and  ardently." 

"What,  then,  do  you  fear?" 

"You  must  remember  that,  though  the  charming  wife  of 
their  favorite  will  be  warmly  received  by  all  his  friends  of  his 
own  sex,  there  are  thousands  of  idle  women  in  the  harems  of 
the  Persian  nobles  who  will  endeavor,  by  every  artifice  and  in- 
trigue in  their  power,  to  injure  the  newly  risen  star,  and  whose 
greatest  joy  it  will  be  to  ruin  such  an  inexperienced  child  and 
make  her  unhappy." 

*Firdu8i,  "Book  of  the  Kings."    "Sons  of  Feridun." 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  151 

"You  have  a  very  bad  opinion  of  the  Persian  women." 

"They  are  but  women,  and  will  naturally  envy  her  who  has 
gained  the  husband  they  all  desired  either  for  themselves  or 
for  their  daughters.  In  their  monotonous  life,  devoid  of  occu- 
pation, envy  easily  becomes  hatred,  and  the  gratification  of 
these  evil  passions  is  the  only  compensation  which'  the  poor 
creatures  can  obtain  for  the  total  absence  of  love  and  loss  of 
freedom.  I  repeat,  the  more  beautiful  Sappho  is,  the  more 
malicious1  they  will  feel  toward  her,  and,  even  if  Bartja  should 
love  her  so  fervently  as"  not  to  take  a  second  wife  for  two  or 
three  years,  she  will  still  have  such  heavy  hours  to  encounter 
that  I  really  do  not  know  whether  I  dare  congratulate  you  on 
her  apparently  brilliant  future." 

"That  is  quite  my  own  feeling.  A  simple  Greek  would  be 
more  welcome  to  me  than  this  son  of  a  mighty  monarch." 

At  this  moment  Knakias  brought  Bartja  into  the  room.  He 
went  to  Rhodopis  at  once,  besought  her  not  to  refuse  him  the 
hand  of  her  granddaughter,  spoke  of  his  ardent  love  and  as- 
sured her  that  his  happiness  would  be  doubled. if  she  would  con- 
sent to  accompany  them  to  Persia.  Then,  turning  to  Croesus, 
he  seized  his  hand  and  entreated  forgiveness  for  having  so  long 
concealed  his  great  happiness  from  one  who  had  been  like  a 
father  to  him,  at  the  same-time  begging  him  to  second  his  suit 
with  Rhodopis. 

The  old  man  listened  to  the  youth's  passionate  language  with 
a  smile,  and  said:  .  "Ah,  Bartja,  how  often  have  I  warned  thee 
against  love !  It  is  a  scorching  fire." 

"But  its  flame  is  bright  and  beautiful." 

"It  causes  pain." 

"But  such  pain  is  sweet." 

"It  leads  the  mind  astray." 

"But  it  strengthens  the  heart." 

"Oh,  this  love !"  cried  Rhodopis.  "Inspired  by  Eros,  the  boy 
speaks  as  if  he  had  been  all  his  life  studying  under  an  Attic 
orator!" 

"And  yet,"  answered  Croesus,  "these  lovers  are  the  most  un- 
teachable  of  pupils.  Convince  them"  as  clearly  as  you  will  that 
their  passion  is  only  another  word  for  poison,  fire,  folly,  death, 
they  still  cry:  "Tis  sweet,'  and  will  not  be  hindered  in  their 
course." 

As  he  was  speaking  Sapph.j  came  in.    A  white  festal  robe, 


152  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

with  wide  sleeves,  and  borders  of  purple  embroidery,  fell  in 
graceful  folds  round  her  delicate  figure,  and  was  confined  at 
the  waist  by  a  golden  girdle.  Her  hair  was  adorned  with  fresh 
roses,  and  on  her  bosom  lay  her  lover's  first  gift,  the  flashing- 
diamond  star. 

She  came  up  modestly  and  gracefully  and  made  a  low  obei- 
sance to  the  aged  Croesus.  His  eyes  rested  long  on  the  maid- 
enly and  lovely  countenance,  and  the  longer  he  gazed  the 
kindlier  became  his  gaze.  For  a  moment  he  seemed  to  grow 
young  again  in  the  visions  conjured  up  by  memory,  and  invol- 
untarily he  went  up  to  the  young  girl,  kissed  her  affectionately 
on  the  forehead,  and,  taking  her  by  the  hand,  led  her  to  Bartja 
with  the  words:  "Take  her,  thy  wife  she  must  be,  if  the  entire 
race  of  the  Achaemenidae  were  to  conspire  against  us." 

"Have  I  no  voice  in  the  matter?"  said  Rhodopis,  smiling 
through  her  tears. 

On  hearing  these  words,  Bartja  and  Sappho  each  took  one 
of  her  hands,  and  gazed  entreatingly  into  her  face.  She  rose 
to  her  full  stature, and  like  a  prophetess  exclaimed:  "Eros,  who 
brought  you  to  each  other,  Zeus  and  Apollo  defend  and  protect 
you.  I  see  you  now  like  two  fair  roses  on  one  stem,  loving 
and  happy  in  the  spring  of  life.  What  summer,  autumn  and 
winter  may  have  in  store  for  you  lies  hidden  with  the  gods. 
May  the  shades  of  departed  parents,  my  Sappho,  smile  approv- 
ingly when  these  tidings  of  their  child  shall  reach  them  in  the 
nether  world !" 


Three  days  later  a  densely  packed  crowd  was  once  more 
surging  round  the  Sais  landing-place.  This  time  they  had  as- 
sembled to  bid  a  last  farewell  to  their  king's  daughter,  and  in 
this  hour  the  people  gave  clear  tokens  that,  in  spite  of  all  the 
efforts  of  the  priestly  caste,  their  hearts  remained  loyal  to  their 
monarch  and  his  house. 

For  when  Amasis  and  Ladice  embraced  Nitetis  for  the  last 
time  with  tears— when  Tachot,  in  presence  of  all  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Sais,  following  her  sister  down  the  broad  flight  of  steps 
that  led  to  the  river,  threw  her  arms  round  her  neck  once  more 
and  burst  into  sobs— when  at  last  the  wind  filled  the  sails  of  the 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  153 

royal  boat  and  bore  the  princess,  destined  to  be  the  great  king's 
bride,  from  their  sight,  few  eyes  among  that  vast  crowd  re- 
mained dry. 

The  priests  alone  looked  on  at  this  sad  scene  with  unmoved 
gravity  and  coldness;  but  when  the  south  wind  at  last  bore 
away  the  strangers  who  had  robbed  them  of  their  princess, 
many  a  curse  and  execration  followed  from  the  Egyptians  on 
the  shore;  Tachot  alone  stood  weeping  there  and  waving  her 
veil  to  them.  For  whom  were  these  tears?  for  the  play-fellow 
of  her  youth  or  for  the  handsome,  beloved  prince? 

Amasis  embraced  his  wife  and  daughter  in  the  eyes  of  all  his 
people;  and  held  up  his  little  grandson,  Prince  Necho,  to  their 
gaze,  the  sight  eliciting  cries  of  joy  on  all  sides.  But  Psamtik, 
the  child's  own  father,  stood  by  the  while,  tearless  and  mo- 
tionless. The  king  appeared  not  to  observe  him,  until  Neitho- 
tep  approached  and  leading  him  to  his  father  joined  their 
hands  and  called  down  the  blessing  of  the  gods  upon  the  royal 
house. 

At  this  the  Egyptians  fell  on  their  knees  with  uplifted  hands. 
Amasis  clasped  his  son  to  his  heart,  and,  when  the  high-priest 
had  concluded  his  prayer,  the  following  colloquy  between  the 
latter  and  Amasis  took  place  in  low  tones: 

"Let  peace  be  between  us  for  our  own  and  Egypt's  sake!" 

"Hast  thou  received  Nebenchari's  letter?" 

"A  Samian  pirate-vessel  is  in  pursuit  of  Phanes'  trireme." 

"Behold  the  child  of  thy  predecessor  Hophra,  the  rightful 
heiress  of  the  Egyptian  throne,  departing  unhindered  to  a  dis- 
tant land!" 

"The  works  of  the  Greek  temple  now  building  in  Memphis 
shall  be  discontinued." 

"May  Isis  grant  us  peace,  and  may  prosperity  and  happiness 
increase  in  our  land!" 


The  Greek  colonists  in  Naukratis*  had  prepared  a  feast  to 
celebrate  the  departure  of  their  protector's  daughter. 

Numerous  animals  had  been  slaughtered  in  sacrifice  on  the 
altars  of  the  Greek  divinities,  and  the  Nile  boats  were  greeted 
with  a  loud  cry  of  "Ailinos"  on  their  arrival  in  the  harbor, 


154  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

A  bridal  wreath  composed  of  a  hoop  of  gold  wound  round 
with  scented  violets*  was  presented  to  Nitetis  by  a  troop  of 
young  girls  in  holiday  dresses,  the  act  of  presentation  being 
performed  by  Sappho,  as  the  most  beautiful  among  the  maidens 
of  Naukratis. 

On  accepting  the  gift  Nitetis  kissed  her  forehead  in  token  of 
gratitude.  The  triremes  were  already  waiting;  she  went 
on  board,  the  rowers  took  their  oars  and  began  the  Ke- 
leusma.fj  The  south  wind  filled  the  sails,  and  again  the  Aili- 
nos  rang  across  the  water  from  a  thousand  voices.  Bartja  stood 
"on  the  deck,  and  waved  a  last  loving  farewell  to  his  betrothed, 
while  Sappho  prayed  in  silence  to  Aphrodite  Euploia,  the  pro- 
tectress of  those  who  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships.  The  tears 
rolled  down  her  cheeks,  but  around  her  lips  played  a  smile  of 
love  and  hope,  though  her  old  slave  Melitta,  who  accompanied 
her  to  carry  her  parasol,  was  weeping  as  if  her  heart  would 
break..  On  seeing,  however,  a  few  leaves  fall  from  her  darling's 
wreath  she  forgot  her  tears  for  a  moment  and  whispered, 
softly:  "Yes,  dear  heart,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  you  are  in  love; 
when  the  leaves  fall  from  a  maiden's  wreath  'tis  a  sure  sign  that 
her  heart  has  been  touched  by  Eros."§ 


CHAPTER  XII. 


Seven  weeks  after  Nitetis  had  quitted  her  native  country  a 
long  train  of  equipages  and  horsemen  was  to  be  seen  on  the 
king's  high  way  1 1  from  the  west  to  Babylon,  moving  steadily 

*The  Greek  bridal  wreath  usually  consisted  of  violets  and  myrtle. 

tThe  melody  to  the  measure  of  which  the  Greek  boatmen  usually 
timed  their  strokes. 

tThe  measure  of  the  Keleusma  was  generally  given  by  a  flute- 
player,  the  Trieraules.  Aeschylus,  "Persians,"  403.  "Laert.  Diog.," 
iv,  22.  Becker,  "Charikles,"  i,  p.  213.  In  the  "Frogs  of  Aristophanes" 
the  inhabitants  of  the  marshes  are  made  to  sing  the  Keleusma,  v, 
205. 

§See  Kallimachus'  epigram,  45,  "Athenaeus,"  xv.,  p.  (?69. 

1 1  The  great  road  called  the  "king's  road,"  of  which  we  shall  have 
tnore  to  say,  was  made  by  Cyrus  and  carefully  kept  up  by  Darius. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  155 

toward  that  gigantic  city,  whose  towers  might  already  be 
descried  in  the  far  distance. 

The  principal  object  in  this  caravan  was  a  richly  guided,  four- 
wheeled  carriage,  closed  in  at  the  sides  by  curtains,  and  above 
by  a  roof  supported  on  wooden  pillars.  In  this  vehicle,  called 
the  Harmamaxa,*  resting  on  rich  cushions  of  gold  brocade, 
sat  our  Egyptian  princess. 

On  either  side  rode  her  escort,  viz.,  the  Persian  princes  and 
nobles  whom  we  have  already  learned  to  know  during  their 
visit  to  Egypt,  Croesus  and  his  son. 

Behind  these,  a  long  train,  consisting  of  fifty  vehicles  of  dif- 
ferent kinds  and  six  hundred  beasts  of  burden,  stretched  away 
into  the  distance,  and  the  royal  carriage  was  preceded  by  a 
troop  of  splendidly  mounted  Persian  cavalry. 

The  highroad  followed  the  course  of  the  Euphrates,  passing 
through  luxuriant  fields  of  wheat,  barley  and  sesamef  yield- 
ing fruit,  two  and  sometimes1  even  three  hundredfold.  Slender 
date-palms,  covered  with  golden  fruit,  were  scattered  in  every 
direction  over  the  fields,  which  were  thoroughly  irrigated  by 
means  of  canals  and  ditches.t 

It  was  winter,  but  the  sun  shone  warm  and  bright  from  a 
cloudless  sky.  The  mighty  river  swrarmed  with  craft  of  all 
sizes,  either  transporting  the  products  of  Upper  Armenia  to  the 
plains  of  Mesopotamia,  or  the  wares  of  Greece  and  Asia  Minor 
from  Thapsakus§  to  Babylon.  Pumps  and  water-wheels 
poured  refreshing  streams  over  the  thirsty  land,  and  pretty  vil- 
lages ornamented  the  shores  of  the  river.  Indeed,  every  ob- 
ject gave  evidence  that  our  caravan  wras  approaching  the  me- 
tropolis of  a  carefully  governed  and  civilized  state. 

Nitetis  and  her  retinue  now  halted  at  a  long  brick  house, 

*An  Asiatic  traveling  carriage.  The  first  mention  of  these  is  in 
Xenophon's  "Aanabasis,"  where  we  find  a  queen  traveling  in  such  a 
vehicle.  They  were  later  adopted  by  the  Romans  and  used  for  the 
same  object. 

tA  species  of  corn  which  grows  luxuriantly  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Babylon,  and  from  which  oil  is  extracted. 

f'Herodotus,"  i,  193.  The  ancient  aqueduct  discovered  by  Layard. 
"Nineveh  and  Babylon,"  p.  215.  Bas-reliefs  representing  this  well- 
watered  and  cultivated  region  e.  1.  p.  262. 

§An  important  commercial  town  on  the  Euphrates,  and  the  point  of 
observation  from  which  Eratosthenes  took  his  measurements  of  the 
earth, 


156  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

roofed  with  asphalt,*  and  surrounded  by  a  grove  of  plane- 
trees.  Here  Croesus  was  lifted  from  his  horse  and  approach- 
ing the  carriage,  exclaimed:  "Here  we  are  at  length  at  the 
last  station !  That  high  tower  which  you  see  on  the  horizon  is 
the  celebrated  temple  of  Bel,  next  to  the  pyramids,  one  of  the 
most  gigantic  works  ever  constructed  by  human  hands.  Before 
sunset  we  shall  have  readied  the  brazen  gates  of  Babylon.  And 
now  I  would  ask  you  to  alight  and  let  me  send  your  maidens 
into  the  house;  for  here  you  must  put  on  Persian  apparel  to 
appear  well-pleasing  in  the  eyes  of  Cambyses.  In  a  few  hours 
you  will  stand  before  your  future  husband.  But  you  are  pale ! 
Permit  your  maidens  to  adorn  your  cheeks  with  a  color  that 
shall  look  like  the  excitement  of  joy.  A  first  impression  is 
often  a  final  one,  and  this  is  especially  true  with  regard  to  Cam- 
byses. If,  which  I  doubt  not,  you  are  pleasing  in  his  eyes  at 
first,  then  you  have  won  his  love  forever;  but  if  you  should 
displease  him  to-day  he  will  never  look  kindly  on  you  again, 
for  he  is  rough  and  harsh.  But  take  courage,  my  daughter, 
and,  above  all,  do  not  forget  the  advice  I  have  given  you." 
Nitetis  dried  her  tears  as  .she  answered:  "How  can  I  ever  thank 
you,  O  Croesus,  my  second  father,  my  protector  and  adviser, 
for  all  your  goodness?  Oh,  forsake  me  not  in  the  days  to 
come !  and  if  the  path  of  my  life  should  lead  through  grief  and 
care  be  near  to  help  and  guide  me  as  you  were  on  the  moun- 
tain-passes of  this  long  and  dangerous  journey.  A  thousand 
times  I  thank  thee,  O  my  father!" 

And,  as  she  said  these  words,  the  young  girl  threw  her 
arms  around  the  old  man's  neck  and  kissed  him  tenderly. 

On  entering  the  court-yard,  a  tall,  stout  man  followed  by  a 
train  of  Asiatic  serving-maidens  came  forward  to  meet  them. 
This  was  Boges,  the  chief  of  the  eunuchs, f  an  important  official 

*Nearly  all  authorities,  ancient  as  well  as  modern,  report  that  bitu- 
men, which  is  still  plentifully  found  in  the  neighborhood  of  Babylon, 
was  used  by  the  Babylonians  as  mortar.  See,  besides  the  accounts  of 
ancient  writers,  W.  Baur,  "Nineveh  and  Persepolis;  an  Historical 
Sketch  of  Assyria  and  Persia,"  p.  136.  "Layard,"  1,  1,  p.  262  and  pp. 
529,  530.  Burned  bitumen  as  used  by  Assyrians  for  cement  in  building. 

tSee  Ebers,  "Aegypten  und  die  Biicher  Mose's,"  p.  296  and  following, 
on  this  unfortunate  class  of  human  beings,  who  far  more  probably 
owed  their  origin  to  the  jealousy  of  the  easterns  and  their  desire  to 
perpetuate  their  race  or  family  in  its  original  purity,  than  to  Semi- 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  15? 

at  the  Persian  court.  His  beardless  face  wore  a  smile  of  ful- 
some sweetness;  in  his  ears  hung  costly  jeweled  pendants;  his 
neck,  arms,  legs  and  his  effeminately  long  garments  glittered  all 
over  with  gold  chains  and  rings,  and  his-  crisp,  stiff  curls,  bound 
round  by  a  purple  fillet,  streamed  with  powerful  and  penetrat- 
ing perfumes. 

Making  a  low  and  reverential  obeisance  before  Nitetis,  and 
holding,  the  while,  his  fat  hands  overloaded  with  rings  before 
his  mouth,  he  thus  addressed  her:  "Cambyses,  lord  of  the 
world,  hath  sent  me  to  thee,  O  queen,  that  I  may  refresh  thy 
heart  with  the  dew  of  his  salutations.  He  sendeth  thee  like- 
wise by  me,  even  by  me  the_  lowest  of  his  servants,  Persian  rai- 
ment, that  them,  as  befittetli  the  consort  of  the  mightiest  of  all 
rulers,  mayest  approach  the  gates  of  the  Achaemenidae  in 
Median  garments.  These  women  whom  thou  seest  are  thy 
handmaidens,  and  only  await  thy  bidding  to  transform  thee 
from  an  Egyptian  jewel  into  a  Persian  pearl." 

The  master  of  the  caravansary  then  appeared,  bearing,  in 
token  of  welcome,  a  basket  of  fruits  arranged  with  great  taste. 

Nitetis  returned  her  thanks  to  both  these  men  in  kind  and 
friendly  words;  then  entering  the  house  laid  aside  the  dress 
and  ornaments  of  her  native  land,  weeping  as  she  did  so,  al- 
lowed the  strangers  to  unloose  the  plait  of  hair  which  hung 
down  at  the  left  side  of  her  head,  and  was  the  distinctive  mark 
of  an  Egyptian  princess,*  and  -to  array  her  in  Median  gar- 
ments. 

In  the  meantime  a  repast  had  been  commanded  by  the 
princes  who  accompanied  her.  Eager  and  agile  attendants 
rushed  to  the  baggage- wagons,  fetching  thence,  in  a  few  mo- 
ments, seats,  tables,  and  golden  utensils  of  all  kinds.  The  cooks 
vied  with  them  and  with  each  other,  and,  as  if  by  magic,  in  a 
short  space  of  time  a  richly  adorned  banquet  for  the  hungry 
guests  appeared,  at  which  even  the  flowers  were  >not  wanting. 

During  the  entire  journey  our  travelers  had  lived  in  a  similar 

ramis'  wish  to  be  surrounded  only  by  men  who,  like  herself,  were 
beardless  and  had  high-toned  voices. 

*In  almost  all  the  Egyptian  pictures  the  daughters  of  the  Pharaohs 
are  represented  with  these  lopks  of  hair,  plaited  and  reaching  from  the 
forehead  to  the  neck.  Rosellini,  "Mon.  Stor.,"  ii,  123.  Lepsius, 
"Denkmaler."  The  daughter  of  Rameses  II  is  drawn  thus,  and  we 
have  examples  of  the  same  in  many  other  pictures. 


15g  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

luxury,  as  their  beasts  of  burden  carried  every  imaginable  con- 
venience, from  tents  of  water-proof  materials  inwrought  with 
g-old,  down  to  silver  footstools;  and  in  the  vehicles  which  com- 
posed their  train  were  not  only  bakers,  cooks,  cup-bearers  and 
carvers,  but  perfumers1,  hair-dressers,  and  weavers  of  garlands. 
Besides  these  conveniences,  a  well-fitted  up  caravansary,  or  inn, 
was  to  be  found  about  every  eighteen  miles  along  the  whole 
route,  where  disabled  horses  could  be  replaced,  the  plantations 
around  which  afforded  a  refreshing  shelter  from  the  noonday 
heat,  or  their  hearths  a  refuge  from  the  snow  and  cold  on  the 
mountain-passes. 

The  kingdom  of  Persia  was  indebted  for  these  inns  (similar 
to  the  post-stations  of  modern  days)  to  Cyrus,  who  had  en- 
deavored to  connect  the  widely  distant  provinces  of  his  im- 
mense dominions  by  a  system  of  well-kept  roads  and  a  regular 
postal  service.  At  each  of  these  stations  the  horseman  carry- 
ing the  letter-bag  was  relieved  by  a  fresh  man  on  a  fresh  steed, 
to  whom  the  letters  were  transferred,  and  who,  in  his  turn, 
darted  off  like  the  wind,  to  be  again  replaced  at  a  similar  dis- 
tance by  another  rider.  These  couriers,  called  Angari,  were 
considered  the  swiftest  horsemen  in  the  world.* 

Just  as  the  banqueters,  among  whom  Boges  had  taken  his 
seat,  were  rising  from  the  table,  the  door  opened,  and  a  vision 
appeared,  which  drew  prolonged  exclamations  of  surprise  from 
all  the  Persians  present.  Nitetis,  clad  in  the  glorious  apparel  of 
a  Median  princess,  proud  in  the  consciousness  of  her  tri- 
umphant beauty,  and  yet  blushing  like  a  young  girl  at  the  won- 
dering admiration  of  her  friends,  stood  before  them. 

The  attendants  involuntarily  fell  on  their  faces  before  her, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  Asiatics,  and  the  noble  Achae- 
menidae  bowed  low  and  reverentially;  for  it  seemed  as  if 
Nitetis  had  laid  aside  all  her  former  bashfulness  and  timidity 
with  her  simple  Egyptian  dress,  and  with  the  splendid  silken 
garments  of  a  Persian  princess,  flashing  as  they  were  with  gold 
and  jewels,  had  clothed  herself  in  the  majesty  of  a  queen. 

The  deep  reverence  paid  by  all  present  seemed  agreeable  to 

"•"Herodotus,"  v,  14,  49-52.  Xenoph,  "Cyrop.,"  viii,  69.  Plutarch, 
"Artaxerxes,"  25.  Persian  milestones  ar«  still  to  be  found  among  the 
ruins  of  the  old  king's  road  which  led  from  Nineveh  to  Ekbatana. 
The  Kurds  call  them  keli-shin  (blue  pillars).  W.  Baur,  "Nineveh  and 
Persepolis,"  p.  330. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  159 

her,  and  thanking  her  admiring  friends  by  a  gracious  wave  of 
the  hand  she  turned  to  the  cmef  of  the  eunuchs*  and  said,  in  a 
kind  tone  but  mingled  with  a  touch  of  pride :  "Thou  hast  per- 
formed thy  mission  well ;  I  am  content  with  the  raiment  and  the 
slaves  that  thou  hast  provided  and  shall  commend  thy  circum- 
spection to  the  king,  my  husband.  Receive  this  gold  chain  in 
the  meanwhile  as  a  token  of  my  gratitude." 

The  eunuch  kissed  the  hem  of  her  garment  and  accepted  the 
gift  in  silence.  This  man,  hitherto  omnipotent  in  his  office, 
had  never  before  encountered  such  pride  in  any  of  the  womejj 
committed  to  his  charge.  Up  to  the,  present  time  all  Cambyses' 
wives  had  been  Asiatics,  and,  well  aware  of  the  unlimited  power 
of  the  chief  of  the  eunuchs,  had  used  every  means  within  their 
reach  to  secure  his  favor  by  flattery  and  submission. 

Boges  now  made  a  second  obeisance'before  Nitetis,  of  which, 
however,  she  took  no  notice,  and  turning  to  Croesus  said: 
"Neither  words  nor  gifts  could  ever  suffice  to  express  my  grati- 
tude to  you,  kindest  of  friends,  for,  if  my  future  life  at  the  court 
of  Persia  prove,  I  will  not  venture  to  say  a  happy,  but  even  a 
peaceful  one,  it  is  to  you  alone  that  I  shall  owe  it.  Still,  take  this 
ring.  It  has  never  left  my  finger  since  I  quitted  Egypt,  and 
it  has  a  significance  far  beyond  its  outward  worth.  Pythagoras, 
the  noblest  of  the  Greeks,  gave  it  to  my  mother  when  he  was 
tarrying  in  Egypt  to  learn  the  wisdom  of  our  priests,  and  it 
was  her  parting  gift  to  me.  The  number  seven  is  engraved 
upon  the  simple  stone.  This  indivisible  number  represents  per- 
fect health,  both  of  soul  and  body,f  for  health  is  likewise  one 
and  indivisible.  The  sickness  of  one  member  is  the  sickness  of 
all;  one  evil  thought,  allowed  to  take  up  its  abode  within  our 
heart,  destroys  the  entire  harmony  of  the  soul.  When  you  see 
this  seven,  therefore,  let  it  recall  my  heart's  wish  that  you  may 
ever  enjoy  undisturbed  bodily  health  and  long  retain  that  lov- 
ing gentleness  which  has  made  you  the  most  virtuous,  and 
•therefore  the  healthiest,  of  mem  No  thanks,  my  father,  for  even 
if  1  could  restore  to  Croesus  all  the  treasures  that  he  once  pos- 

*In  the  book  of  Esther,  ii,  12, 15,  a  chief  of  the  eunuchs  for  the  king's 
wives  is  spoken  of,  and  another  for  the  concubines.  But  in  the  reign 
of  Cambyses,  which  was  so  much  earlier,  we  have  allowed  Boges  to 
fill  both  these  offices. 

tSeven,  the  "motherless"  number  which  has  no  factor  below  ten. 
Zeller,  "Geschichte  der  Philosophie  der  Griechen,"  pp.  232  and  298, 


160  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

sessed  I  should  still  remain  his  debtor.  Gyges,  to  you  I  give 
this  Lydian  lyre ;  let  its  tones  recall  the  giver  to  your  memory. 
For  you, 'Zopyrus,  I  have  a  gold  chain;  I  have  witnessed  that 
you  are  the  most  fakhful  of  friends ;  and  we  Egyptians  are  ac- 
customed to  place  cords  and  bands  in  the  hands  of  our  lovely 
Hathor,  the  goddess  of  love  and  friendship,  as  symbols  of  her 
captivating  and  enchaining  attributes.*  As  Darius  has  studied 
the  wisdom  of  Egypt  and  the  signs  of  the  starry  heavens,  I  beg 
him  to  take  this  circlet  of  gold,  on  which  a  skillful  hand  has 
traced  the  signs  of  the  zodiac.f  And  lastly,  to  my  dear  brother- 
in-law  Bartja  I  commit  the  most  precious  jewel  in  my  posses- 
sion— this  amulet  of  blue  stone.J  My  sister  Tachot  hung  it 
round  my  neck  as  I  kissed  her  on  the  last  night  before 'we 
parted;  she  told  me  it  could  bring  to  its  wearer  the  sweet  bliss 
of  love.  And  then,  Bartja,  she  wept!  I  do  not  know  of  whom 
she  was  thinking  in  that  moment,  but  I  hope  I  am  acting  ac- 
cording to  her  wishes  in  giving  you  her  precious  jewel.  Take 
it  as  a  gift  from  Tachot,  and  sometimes  call  to  mind  our  games 
in  the  Sais  gardens." 

Thus  far  she  had  been  speaking  Greek,  but  now,  addressing 
the  attendants  who  remained  standing  in  an  attitude  of  deep 
reverence,  she  began  in  broken  Persian:  "Accept  my  thanks 
also.  In  Babylon  you  shall  receive  a  thousand  gold  staters."§ 

*See  note  2,  p.  29. 

tDiodorus  tells  that  in  the  tomb  of  Osymandyas  (palace  of  Rameses 
II  at  Thebes)  there  lay  a  circle  of  gold,  one  ell  thick  and  three  hundred 
and  sixty-five  ells  in  circumference,  containing  a  complete  astronom- 
ical calendar.  The  circle  of  the  zodiac  from  Dendera,  which  is  now  at 
Paris,  an  astronomical  ceiling  painting,  which  was  believed  at  the 
time  of  its  discovery  to  be  of  great  age,  is  not  nearly  so  ancient  as  was 
supposed,  dating  only  from  the  end  of  the  Ptolemaic  dynasty.  Le- 
tronne  was  the  first  to  estimate  it  correctly.  See  Lepsius,  "Chron.," 
p.  63,  and  Lauth,  "Les  Zodiaques  de  Dendera,"  Munich,  1865. 

JLapis  lazuli  was  a  favorite  stone  among  the  ancient  Egyptians. 
Turquoises  have  been  found  in  the  present  day  by  an  Englishman 
named  Macdonald  in  the  old  mines  on  the  Sinaitic  peninsula.  See 
Brughsch,  "Wanderungen  zu  den  Turkisminen." 

§These  staters  were  the  earliest  stamped  coins  according  to  "Herod- 
otus," i,  94.  But  Bockh  and  Brandis  have  proved  that  the  Assyrians 
had  fixed  weights  and  measures  much  earlier.  The  Persian  Daricus 
was  probably  first  coined  in  the  reign  of  Darius,  though  Suidas  main- 
tains that  they  took  their  name  from  a  former  Darius.  It  may  have 
been  derived  from  the  word  "Zara,"  gold.  The  Daricus  was  worth  a 
little  more  than  twenty-four  shillings.  Bockh,  "Metrologie,"  pp.  46, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  161 

Then  turning:  to  Boges  she  added :  "Let  this  sum  be  distributed 
among  the  attendants  at  latest  by  the  day  after  to-morrow. 
Take  me  to  my  carriage,  Croesus." 

The  old  king  hastened  to  do  her  bidding,  and  as  he  was 
leading  her  thither  she  pressed  his  arm  and  whispered  gently: 
•'Are  you  pleased  with  me,  my  father?" 

"I  tell  you,  girl,"  the  old  man  answered,  "that  no  one  but  the 
king's  mother  can  ever  be  your  equal  at  this  court,  for  a  true 
and  queenly  pride  reigns  on  your  brow,  and  you  have  the  power 
of  using  small  means  to  effect  great  ends.  Believe  me,  the 
smallest  gifts,  chosen  and  bestowed  as  you  can  choose  and  be- 
stow, give  more  pleasure  to  a  noble  mind  than  heaps  of  treas- 
ure merely  cast  down  at  his  feet.  The  Persians  are  accustomed 
to  present  and  to  receive  costly  gifts.  They  understand  already 
how  to  enrich  their  friends,  but  you  can  teach  them  -to  impart 
a  joy  with  every  gift.  How  beautiful  you  are  to-day !  Are  your 
cushions  to  your  mind,  or  would  you  like  a  higher  seat?  But 
what  is  that?  There  are  clouds  of  dust  in  the  direction  of  the 
city.  Cambyses  is  surely  coming  to  meet  you!  Courage,  my 
daughter.  Above  all,  try  to  meet  his  gaze  and  respond  to  it. 
Very  few  can  bear  the  lightning  glance  of  those  eyes,  but  if  you 
can  return  it  freely  and  fearlessly  you  have  conquered.  Fear 
nothing,  my  child,  and  may  Aphrodite  adorn  you  with  her 
most  glorious  beauty!  My  friends,  we  must  start;  I  think  the 
king  himself  is  coming."  Nitetis  sat  erect  in  her  splendid, 
gilded  carriage;  her  hands  were  pressed  on  her  throbbing 
heart.  The  clouds  of  dust  came  nearer  and  nearer,  her  eye 
caught  the  flash  of  weapons  like  lightning  across  a  stormy  sky. 
The  clouds  parted,  she  could  see  single  figures  for  a  moment, 
but  soon  lost  them  as  the  road  wound  behind  some  thickets  and 
shrubs.  Suddenly  the  troop  of  horsemen  appeared  in  full  gal- 
lop only  a  hundred  paces  before  her  and  distinctly  visible. 

Her  first  impression  was  of  a  motley  mass  of  steeds  and  men, 
glittering  in  purple,  gold,  silver  and  jewels.  It  consisted  in 
reality  of  a  troop  of  more  than  two  hundred  horsemen  mounted 
on  pure-white  Nicaean  horses,  whose  bridles  and  saddle-cloths 
were  covered  with  bells  and  bosses,  feathers,  fringes  and  em- 

51,  121  and  following.  Duncker,  "Geschichte  des  Alterthums,"  ii,  p. 
642.  We  are  indebted  to  Brandis  for  the  latest  and  most  successful 
researches  on  this  subject  of  eastern  measures  of  every  kind. 


162  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

broidery.*  Their  leader  rode  a  powerful  coal-black  charger, 
which  even  the  strong  will  and  hand  of  his  rider  could  not  al- 
ways curb,  though  in  the  end  his  enormous  strength  proved 
"  him  the  man  to  tame  even  this  fiery  animal.  The  rider,  beneath 
whose  weight  the  powerful  steed  trembled  and  panted,  wore  a 
vesture  of  scarlet  and  white,  thickly  embroidered  with  eagles 
and  falcons  in  silver.f  The  lower  part  of  his  dress  was  purple 
and  his  boots  of  yellow  leather.  He  wore  a  golden  girdle;  in 
this  hung  a  short,  dagger-like  sword,  the  hilt  and  scabbard  of 
which  were  thickly  studded  with  jewels.  The  remaining  orna- 
ments of  his  dress  resembled  those  we  have  described  as  worn 
by  Bartja,  and  the  blue  and  white  fillet  of  the  Achaemenidae 
was  bound  around  the  tiara,  which  surmounted  a  mass  of  thick 
curls,  black  as  ebony.  The  lower  part  of  his  face  was  concealed 
by  an  immense  beard.  His  features  were  pale  and  immovable, 
but  the  eyes  (more  intensely  black,  if  possible,  than  either  hair 
or  beard)  glowed  with  a  fire  that  was  rather  scorching  than 
warming.  A  deep,  fiery-red  scar  given  by  the  sword  of  a 
Massagetan  warrior  crossed  his  high  forehead,  arched  nose  and 
thin  upper  lip.  His  whole  demeanor  expressed  great  power  and 
unbounded  pride. 

Nitetis'  gaze  was  at  once  riveted  by  this  man.  She  had  never 
seen  anyone  like  him  before,  and  he  exercised  a  strange  fasci- 
nation over  her.  The  expression  of  indomitable  pride  worn  by 
his  features  seemed  to  her  to  represent  a  manly  nature  which 
the  whole  world,  but  she  herself  above  all  others,  was  created  to 
serve.  She  felt  afraid  and  yet  her  true  woman's  heart  longed  to 
lean  upon  his  strength  as  the  vine  upon  the  elm.  She  could  not 
be  quite  sure  whether  she  had  thus  pictured  to  herself  the  father 
of  all  evil,  the  fearful  Seth,$  or  the  great  god  Ammon,  the  giver 
of  light. 

The  deepest  pallor  and  the  brightest  color  flitted  by  turns 
across  her  lovely  face,  like  the  light  and  shadow  when  clouds 
pass  swiftly  over  a  sunny  noonday  sky.  She  had  quite  forgot- 

*From  the  pictures  in  H.  Gosse's  "Assyria,"  p.  238,  and  Layard's 
"Nineveh  and  Babylon,"  pp.  178,  340,  450. 

f'Curtius,"  iii,  3.    Xenoph.,  "Cyrop.,"  viii,  3,  7.    Aeschylus,  "Per- 
sians,",835,  836.    The  king's  dress  and  ornaments  were  worth  twelve 
thousand  talents,  or  two  million  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
pounds  sterling,  according  to  Plutarch,  "Artaxerxes,"  24. 
note  pp.  89-90. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  163 

ten  the  advice  of  her  fatherly  old  frfend,  and  yet,  when  Cam- 
byses  brought  his  unruly,  charing  steed  to  a  stand  by  the  side 
of  her  carriage,  she  gazed  breathlessly  into  the  fiery  eyes  of  this 
man  and  felt  at  once  that  he  was  the  king,  though  no  one  had 
told  her  so. 

The  stern  face  of  this  ruler  of  half  the  known  world  relaxed 
as  Xitetis,  moved  by  an  unaccountable  impulse,  continued  to 
bear  his  piercing  gaze.  At  last  he  waved  his  hand  to  her  in 
token  of -welcome,  and  then  rode  on  to  her  escort,  who  had 
alighted  from  their  horses  and  were  awaiting7  him,  some  having 
cast  themselves  down  in  the  dust,  and  others,  after  the  Persian 
manner,  standing  in  an  attitude  of  deep  reverence,  their  hands 
concealed  in  the  wide  sleeves  of  their  robes. 

He  sprang  from  his  horse,  an  example  which  was  followed 
at  once  by  his  entire  suite.  The  attendants,  with  the  speed  of 
thought,  spread  a  rich  purple  carpet  on  .the  highway,  lest  the 
foot  of  the  king  should  come  in  contact  with  the  dust  of  the 
earth,  and  then  Cambyses  proceeded  to  salute  his  friends  and 
relations  by  offering  them  his  mouth  to  kiss. 

He  shook  Croesus  by  the  right  hand,  commanding  him  to 
remount  and  accompany  him  to  the  carriage,  as  interpreter  be- 
tween himself  and  Nitetis. 

In  an  instant  his  highest  office-bearers  were  at  hand  to  lift 
the  king  once  more  onto  his  horse,  and  at  a  single  nod  from 
their  lord  the  train  was  again  in  motion. 

Cambyses  and  Croesus  rode  by  the  side  of  the  carriage. 

"She  is  beautiful,  and  pleases  me  well,"  began  the  king.  "In- 
terpret faithfully  all  'her  answers,  for  I  understand  only  the 
Persian,  Assyrian  and  Median  tongues." 

Nitetis  caught  and  understood  these  words.  A  feeling  of  in- 
tense joy  stole  into  her  heart,  and  before  Croesus  could  answer, 
she  began  softly  in  broken  Persian  and  blushing  deeply: 
"Blessed  be  the  gods,  who  have  caused  me  to  find  favor  in  thine 
eyes.  I  am  not  ignorant  of  the  speech  of  my  lord,  for  the 
noble  Croesus  has  instructed  me  in  the  Persian  language  dur- 
ing our  long  journey.  Forgive,  if  my  sentences  be  broken  and 
imperfect;  the  time  was  short,  and  my  capacity  only  that  of  a 
poor  and  simple  maiden."* 

*Diodorus  tells  us  that  Themistocles  learned  the  Persian  language 
during  the  journey  to  Susa.  We  are  not,  therefore,  requiring  an  im- 
possibility of  Nitetis. 


164  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

A  smile  passed  over  the  usually  serious  mouth  of  Cambyses. 
His  vanity  was  flattered  by  Nitetis'  desire  to  win  his  approba- 
tion, and,  accustomed  as  he  was  to  see  women  grow  up  in 
idleness  and  ignorance,  thinking  of  nothing  but  finery  and  in- 
trigue, her  persevering  industry  seemed  to  him  both  wonderful 
and  praiseworthy.  So  he  answered,  with  evident  satisfaction : 
"I  rejoice  that  we  can  speak  without  an  interpreter.  Persevere 
in  learning  the  beautiful  language  of  my  forefathers.  Croesus, 
who  sits  at  my  table,  shall  still  remain  your  instructor." 

"Your  command  confers  happiness!"  exclaimed  the  old  man. 
"No  more  eager  or  thankful  pupil  could  be"  found  than  the 
daughter  of  Amasis." 

"She  justifies  the  ancient  report  of  the  wisdom  of  Egypt," 
answered  the  king,  "and  I  can  believe  that  she  will  quickly 
understand  and  receive  into  her  soul  the  religious  instructions 
of  our  Magi." 

Nitetis  dropped  her  earnest  gaze.  Her  fears  were  being  real- 
ized. She  would  be  compelled  to  serve  strange  gods. 

But  her  emotion  passed  unnoticed  by  Cambyses,  who  went 
on  speaking:  "My  mother,  Kassandane,  will  tell  you  the  duties 
expected  from  my  wives.  To-morrow  I  myself  will  lead  you  to 
her.  The  words  which  you  innocently  chanced  to  hear  I  now 
repeat;  you  please  me  well.  Do  nothing  to  alienate  my  af- 
fection. We  will  try  to  make  our  country  agreeable,  and,  as 
your  friend,  I  counsel  you  to  treat  Boges,  whom  I  sent  as  my 
forerunner,  in  a  kind  and  friendly  manner.  As  head  over  the 
house  of  the  women,  you  will  have  to  conform  to  his  will  in 
many  things." 

"Though  he  be  head  over  the  women,"  answered  Nitetis, 
"surely  your  wife  is  bound  to  obey  no  other  earthly  will  than 
yours.  Your  slightest  look  shall  be  for  me  a  command;  but 
remember  that  I  am  a  king's  daughter,  that  in  my  native  land 
the  weaker  and  the  stronger  sex  have  equal  rights,  and  that  the 
same  pride  reigns  in  my  breast  which  I  see  kindling  in  your 
eyes,  my  lord  and  king!  My  obedience  to  you,  my  husband 
and  my  ruler,  shall  be  that  of  a  slave,  but  I  can  never  stoop  to 
sue  for  favor  or  obey  the  orders  of  a  venal  servant,  the  most 
unmanly  of  his  kind!" 

Cambyses'  wonder  and  satisfaction  increased.  He  had  never 
heard  any  woman  speak  in  this  way  before,  except  his  mother; 
the  clever  way  in  which  Nitetis  acknowledged,  and  laid  stress 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  165 

on  his  right  to  command  her  every  act,  was  very  flattering  to 
his  self-love,  and  her  pride  found  an  echo  in  his  own  haughty 
disposition.  He  nodded  approvingly  and  answered:  "You 
have  spoken  well.  A  separate  dwelling  shall  be  appointed  you. 
I,  and  no  one  else,  will  prescribe  your  rules  of  life  and  con- 
duct. This  day  the  pleasant  palace  on  the  hanging  gardens 
shall  be  prepared  for  your  reception." 

"A  thousand,  thousand  thanks,"  cried  Nitetis.  "You  little 
know  the  blessing  you  are  bestowing  in  this  permission.  Again 
and  again  I  have  begged  your  brother  Bartja  to  repeat  the 
story  of  these  gardens,  and  the  love  of  the  king  who  raised  that 
verdant  and  blooming  hill  pleased  us  better  than  all  the  other 
glories  of  your  vast  domains." 

"To-morrow,"  answered  the  king,  "you  can  enter  your  new 
abode.  But  tell  me,  now,  how  my  messengers  pleased  you  and 
your  countrymen?" 

"How  can  you  ask?  Who  could  know  the  noble  Croesus 
without  loving  him?  Who  could  fail  to  admire  the  beauty 
of  the  young  heroes,  your  friends?  They  have  all  become 
dear  to  us,  but  your  handsome  brother  Bartja,  especially,  won 
all"  hearts.  The  Egyptians  have  no  love  for  strangers,  and  yet 
the  gaping  crowd  would  burst  into  a  murmur  of  admiration 
when  his  beautiful  face  appeared  among  them." 

At  these  words  the  king's  brow  darkened;  he  struck  his 
horse  so  sharply  that  the  creature  reared,  and  then  turning 
it  quickly  round  he  galloped  to  the  front  and  soon  reached  the 
walls  of  Babylon. 

Though  Nitetis  had  been  brought  up  among  the  huge  tem- 
ples and  palaces  of  Egypt,  she  was  still  astonished  at  the  size 
and  grandeur  of  this  gigantic  city. 

Its  walls  seemed  impregnable;  they  measured  more  than 
seventy-five  feet*  in  height  and  their  breadth  was  so  great  that 
two  chariots  could  conveniently  drive  abreast  upon  them. 
These  mighty  defenses  were  crowned  and  strengthened  by  two 
hundred  and  fifty  high  towers,  and  even  these  would  have  been 
insufficient  if  Babylon  had  not  been  protected  on  one  side  by 
impassable  morasses.  The  gigantic  city  lay  on  both  shores  of 
the  Euphrates.  It  was  more  than  forty  miles  in  circumference, 


*Fifty  ells.    The  Greek  ell    (m/xvc)     ts  equal  to  one  foot  and  a  half 
English. 


166  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

and  its  walls  inclosed  buildings  surpassing  in  size  and  grandeur 
even  the  pyramids  and  the  temples  of  Thebes.* 

The  mighty  gates  of  brass  through  which  the  royal  train 
entered  the  city  had  opened  wide  to  receive  this  noble  com- 
pany. This  entrance  was  defended  on  each  side  by  a  strong 
tower,  and  before  each  of  these  towers  lay,  as  warder,  a  gigan- 
tic winged  bull  carved  in  stone,  with  a  human  head,  bearded 
and  solemn.f  Nitetis  gazed  at  these  gates  in  astonishment, 
and  then  a  joyful  smile  lighted  up  her  face  as  she  looked  up  the 
long  broad  street  so  brightly  and  beautifully  decorated  to  wel- 
come her. 

The  moment  they  beheld  the  king  and  the  gilded  carriage 
the  multitude  burst  into  loud  shouts  of  joy,  but  when  Bartja, 
the  people's  darling,  came  in  sight,  the  shouts  rose  to  thunder- 
peals and  shrieks  of  delight,  which  seemed  as  if  they  would 
never  end.  It  was  long  since  the  populace  had  seen  Cambyses, 
for  in  accordance  with  Median  customs  the  king  seldom  ap- 
peared in  public.  Like  the  deity,  he  was  to  govern  invisibly, 
and  his  occasional  appearance  before  the  nation  to  be  looked 
upon  as  a  festival  and  occasion  of  rejoicing.  Thus  all  Babylon 
had  come  out  to-day  to  look  upon  their  awful  ruler  and  to  wel- 
come their  favorite  Bartja  on  his  return.  The  windows  were 
crowded  with  eager,  curious  women  who  threw  flowers  before 
the  approaching  train,  or  poured  sweet  perfumes  from  above 
as  they  passed  by.  The  pavement  was  thickly  strewn  with  myr- 
tle and  palm  branches,  trees  of  different  kinds  had  been  placed 
before  the  house  doors,  carpets  and  gay  cloths  hung  from  the 
windows,  garlands  of  flowers  were  wreathed  from  house  to 

These  numbers  and  measurements  are  taken  partly  from  Herodo- 
tus, partly  from  Diodorus,  Strabo  and  Arrian.  And  even  the  ruins  of 
this  giant  city,  writes  Layard,  are  such  as  to  allow  a  very  fair  conclu- 
sion of  its  enormous  size.  "Layard,"  i,  1.  Gosse,  "Assyria."  Ritter, 
"Erdkunde,"  xi,  p.  900,  and  many  others.  Aristotle  ("Polit.,"  iii,  1) 
says  Babylon's  dimensions  were  not  those  of  a  city,  but  of  a  nation. 

tJ.  Bonomi,  "Nineveh  and  Its  Palaces,"  fig.  33,  and  many  pictures  in 
Layard's  works.  Originals  and  casts  of  ancient  Assyrian  works  of 
art  in  the  British  Museum,  the  Louvre  in  Paris,  and  (more  especially 
casts)  in  the  New  Museum,  Berlin.  The  Assyrian  sphinxes  were  prob- 
ably intended  as  symbols  of  the  omnipotence  of  the  deity.  The  highest 
degree  of  strength  was  symbolized  by  the  body  of  a  bull,  the  highest 
intelligence  by  the  head  of  a  man,  and  the  greatest  swiftness  by  the 
eagle's  wings. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  167 

house,  fragrant  odors  of  incense  and  sandal-wood  perfumed  the 
air,  and  the  way  was1  lined  with  thousands  of  gaping  Babylo- 
nians dressed  in  white  linen  shirts,  gayly  colored  woolen  petti- 
coats and  short  cloaks,  and  carrying  long  staves  headed  with 
pomegranates,  birds,  or  roses,  of  gold  or  silver.* 

The  streets  through  which  the  procession  moved  were  broad 
and  straight,  the  houses  on  either  side,  built  of  brick,  tall  and 
handsome. f  Towering  above  everything  else,  and  visible 
from  all  points,  rose  the  gigantic  temple  of  Bel.  Its  colossal 
staircase,  like  a  huge  serpent,  wound  round  and  round  the 
ever-diminishing  series  of  stories  composing  the  tower,  until 
it  reached  the  summit,  crowned  by  the  sanctuary  itself.J 

The  procession  approached  the  royal  palace. §  This  cor- 
responded in  its  enormous  size  to  the  rest  of  the  vast  city.  The 

*"Herodotus,"  i,  195.  "Ezekiel,"  23,  15.  This  dress,  too,  agrees 
well  with  the  pictures  of  Assyrians  represented  on  the  Egyptian 
monuments  among  the  foreign  nations.  Printed  in  colors  in  Rosel- 
lini's  "Mon.  Stor.  de  1'Egitto,"  ii,  pi.  157  and  158,  and  in  Lepsius' 
"Denkmaler."  In  the  celebrated  enumeration  of  the  campaigns  of 
Thotmes  III  (in  Lepsius),  mention  is  made  of  Assuri  and  Babel,  per- 
haps Assyria  and  Babylon.  It  runs  thus:  "In  the  year  40  the  tribute 
of  the  kings  of  Assuri  (Assyria?)  was  a  great  stone  of  lapis  lazuli 
weighing  twenty  minae  and  nine  aces,  of  beautiful  lapis  lazuli  from 
Babel  (Babylon?),  vases  from  Assuri,"  etc. 

f'Kerodotus,"  i,  180. 

JThis  temple  of  Bel,  which  many  consider  may  have  been  the  tower 
of  Babel  of  "Genesis,"  xi,  is  mentioned  by  "Herodotus,"  i,  181, 182, 183. 
"Diodorus,"  ii,  8,  9  (Ktesias),  "Strabo,"  738  and  many  other  ancient 
writers.  The  people  living  in  its  neighborhood  now  call  the  ruins 
"Birs  Nimrud,"  the  castle  of  Nimrod.  In  the  text  we  have  recon- 
structed it  as  far  as  possible  from  the  accounts  of  classical  writers. 
The  first  story,  which  is  still  standing,  in  the  midst  of  a  heap  of  ruins, 
is  two  hundred  and  sixty  feet  high.  The  walls  surrounding  the  tower 
are  said  to  be  still  clearly  recognizable  and  were  four  thousand  feet 
long  and  three  thousand  feet  broad.  Ritter,  "Erdkunde,"  xi,  877. 
"Layard,"  pp.  494-499.  Rich,  "Collected  Memoirs,  First  Memoir," 
p.  37.  The  immense  building  must  have  been  in  its  greatest  splendor 
at  the  time  of  our  tale,  as  we  know  from  "Josephus"  (Ant.  x,  11,  1), 
that  Nebuchadnezzar  added  to  and  finished  it  in  a  magnificent  man- 
ner; and  Josephus'  report  is  confirmed  by  a  cuneiform  inscription 
translated  by  Rawlinson,  "Journal  of  Royal  Ast.  Society,"  xii,  2,  p. 
476.  The  foundation  of  the  temple  seems  to  have  been  square. 

§This  palace  or  castle  is  said  to  have  been  built  by  Nebuchadnezzar, 
too.  At  least  the  bricks  which  have  been  found  among  its  ruins  at 
Hillah  bear  his  name  in  cuneiform  characters.  Many  fragments  of 
glazed  reliefs  have  been  found  there  also. 


168  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

walls  surrounding  it  were  covered  with  gayly  colored  and 
glazed  representations  of  strange  figures  made  up  of  human 
beings,  birds,  quadrupeds,  and  fishes;  hunting-scenes,  battles 
and  solemn  processions.  By  the  side  of  the  river  toward  the 
north  rose  the  hanging  gardens,*  and  the  smaller  palace  lay 
toward  the  east  on  the  other  bank  of  the  Euphrates,  connected 
with  the  larger  one  by  the  wondrous  erection,  a  firm  bridge  of 
stone. 

Our  train  passed  on  through  the  brazen  gates  of  three  of 
the  walls  surrounding  the  palace  and  then  halted.  Nitetis  was 
lifted  from  her  carriage  by  bearers;  she  was  at  last  in  her  new 
home,  and  soon  after  in  the  apartments  of  the  women's  house 
assigned  to  her  temporary  use. 

Cambyses,  Bartja  and  their  friends  already  known  to  us,  were 
still  standing  in  the  gayly  carpeted  court  of  the  palace,  sur- 
rounded by  at  least  a  hundred  splendid  dignitaries  in  magnif- 
icent dresses,  when  suddenly  a  sound  of  loud  female  voices  was 
heard,  and  a  lovely  Persian  girl,  richly  dressed,  her  thick,  fair 
hair  profusely  wreathed  with  pearls,  rushed  into  the  court,  pur- 
sued by  several  women  older  than  herself.  She  ran  up  to  the 
group  of  men;  Cambyses,  with  a  smile,  placed  himself  in  her 
path,  but  the  impetuous  girl  slipped  adroitly  past  him,  and  in 
another  moment  was  hanging  on  Bartja's  neck,  crying  and 
laughing  by  turns. 

The  attendants  in  pursuit  prostrated  themselves  at  a  respect- 
ful distance,  but  Cambyses,  on  seeing  the  caresses  lavished"  by 
the  young  girl  on  her  newly  returned  brother,  cried:  "For 
shame,  Atossa!  remember  that  since  you  began  to  wear  ear- 
rings you  have  ceased  to  be  a  child  !f  It  is  right  that  you 
should  rejoice  to  see  your  brother  again,  but  a  king's  daughter 

*A  heap  of  debris,  twenty-four  hundred  feet  long  and  eighteen 
hundred  broad,  now  called  el  kasr,  "the  palace,"  stretches  along  the 
bank  of  the  Euphrates.  "On  the  north  side  of  this  artificial  hill,  on 
one  of  the  highest  points,  stands  a  lonely  tamarisk  looking  down  on 
the  river  beneath.  The  tree  is  very  old  and  large,  and  the  Arabs  say 
is  the  only  one  now  remaining  from  the  hanging  gardens  of  Semira- 
mis."  Duncker,  "Geschichte  des  Alterthums,"  i,  p.  572.  "Diodorus" 
(ii,  10)  says  the  hanging  gardens  were  in  terraces  like  the  seats  in  a 
theater.  Layard  found  a  tablet  with  bas-reliefs  of  a  garden  supported 
on  columns.  "Nineveh  and  Babylon,"  p.  233,  pi.  xi,  B,  in  Zenker's 
translation. 

tEar-rings  were  given  to  the  Persian  girls  in  their  fifteenth  year, 
the  marriageable  age.  "Vendid.  Fargard,"  xiv,  66.  At  this  age,  too, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  169 

must  never  forget  what  is  due  to  her  rank  even  in  her  greatest 
joy.  Go  back  to  our  mother  directly.  I  see  your  attendants 
waiting  yonder.  Go  and  tell  them  that,  as  this  is  a  day  of  re- 
joicing, I  will  allow  your  heedless  conduct  to  pass  unpunished, 
but  the  next  time  you  appear  unbidden  in  these  apartments, 
which  none  may  enter  without  permission,  I  shall  tell  Boges 
to  keep  you  twelve  days  in  confinement.  Remember  this, 
thoughtless  child,  and  tell  our  mother  Bartja  and  I  are  coming 
to  visit  her.  Now  give  me  a  kiss.  You  will  not?  We  shall 
see,  capricious  little  one!"  And  so  saying  the  king  sprang 
toward  his  refractory  little  sister,  and,  seizing  both  her  hands 
in  one  of  his  own,  bent  back  her  charming  head  with  the  other 
and  kissed  her  in  spite  of  her  resistance.  She  screamed  from 
the  violence  of  his  grasp,  and  ran  away  crying  to  her  attendants, 
who  took  her  back  to  her  apartments. 

When  Atossa  had  disappeared  Bartja  said:  "You  were  too 
rough  with  the  little  one,  Cambyses.  She  screamed  with 
pain!" 

Once  more  the  king's  face  clouded,  but,  suppressing  the  harsh 
words  which  trembled  on  his  lips,  he  only  answered,  turning 
toward  the  house:  "Let  us  come  to  our  mother  now;  she 
begged  me  to  bring  you  as  soon  as  you  arrived.  The  women, 
as  usual,  are  all  impatience.  Nitetis  told  me  your  rosy  cheeks 
and  fair  curls  had  bewitched  the  Egyptian  women,  too.  I 
would  advise  you  to  pray  betimes  to  Mithras*  for  eternal  youth, 
and  for  his  protection  against  the  wrinkles  of  age!" 

"Do  you  mean  to  imply  by  these  words  that  I  have  no  virtue? 
which  could  make  an  old  age  beautiful?"  asked  Bartja. 

"I  explain  my  words  to  no  one.     Come." 

"But  I  ask  for  an  opportunity  of  proving  that  I  am  inferior 
to  none  of  my  nation  in  many  qualities." 

"For  that  matter,  the  shouts  of  the  Babylonians  to-day  will 
have  been  proof  enough  that  deeds  are  not  wanted  from  you, 
in  order  to  win  their  admiration." 

"Cambyses !" 

boys  as  well  as  girls  were  obliged  to  wear  the  sacred  cord — kucti  kosti 
— as  a  girdle,  and  were  only  allowed  to  loosen  it  in  the  night.  The 
making  of  this  cord  is  attended  with  many  ceremonies  even  among 
the  Persians  of  our  own  day.  Seventy-two  threads  must  be  employed, 
but  black  wool  is  prohibited.  Spiegel,  "Avesta,"  ii,  Einleitung,  xxiii, 
*God  of  the  sun  and  of  light  among  the  Persians. 


170  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"Now,  come!  We  are  just  on  the  eve  of  a  war  with  the 
Massagetae ;  there  you  will  have  a  good  opportunity  of  proving 
what  you  are  worth." 

A  few  minutes  later,  and  Bartja  was  in  the  arms  of  his  blind 
mother.  She  had  been  waiting  for  her  darling's  arrival  with  a 
bleeding  heart,  and  in  the  joy  of  hearing  his  voice  once  more, 
and  of  being  able  to  lay  her  hands  again  on  that  beloved  head, 
she  forgot  everything  else — even  her  first-born  son  who  stood 
by  smiling  bitterly,  as  he  watched  the  rich  and  boundless 
stream  of  a  mother's  love  flowing  out  to  his  younger  brother. 

Cambyses  had  been  spoiled  from  his  earliest  infancy.  Every 
wish  had  been  fulfilled,  every  look  regarded  as  a  command; 
and  thus  he  grew  up  totally  unable  to  brook  contradiction, 
giving  way  to  the  most  violent  anger  if  any  of  his  subjects  (and 
he  knew  no  human  beings  who  were  not  his  subjects)  dared  to 
oppose  him. 

His  father,  Cyrus,  conqueror  of  half  the  world — the  man 
whose  genius  had  raised  Persia  from  a  small  nation  to  the 
summit  of  earthly  greatness — who  had  secured  for  himself  the 
reverence  and  admiration  of  countless  subjugated  tribes — this 
great  king  was  incapable  of  carrying  out  in  his  own  small  family 
circle  the  system  of  education  he  had  so  successfully  adopted 
toward  entire  countries.*  He  could  see  naught  else  in 
Cambyses  but  the  future  king  of  Persia,  and  commanded  his 
subjects  to  pay  him  an  unquestioning  obedience,  entirely  for- 
getful of  the  fact  that  he  who  is  to  govern  well  must  begin  by 
learning  to  obey. 

Cambyses  had  been  the  first-born  son  of  Kassandane,  the  wife 
whom  Cyrus  had  loved  and  married  young;  three  daughters 
followed,  and  at  last,  fifteen  years  later,  Bartja  had  come  into 
the  world.  Their  eldest  son  had  already  outgrown  his  parents' 
caresses  when  this  little  child  appeared  to  engross  all  their  care 
and  love.  His  gentle,  affectionate  and  clinging  nature  made 
him  the  darling  of  both  father  and  mother;  Cambyses  was 
treated  with  consideration  by  his  parents,  but  their  love  was  for 
Bartja.  Cambyses  was  brave;  he  distinguished  himself  often 
in  the  field,  but  his  disposition  was  haughty  and  imperious; 
men  served  him  with  fear  and  trembling,  while  Bartja,  ever 

"The  same  remark  is  to  be  found  in  Seneca  "De  ira"  and  in  Plato, 
"Legg.,"  691  and  695. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  171 

sociable  and  sympathizing,  converted  all  his  companions  into 
loving  friends.  As  to  the  mass  of  the  people,  they  feared  the 
king  and  trembled  when  he  drew  near,  notwithstanding  the 
lavish  manner  in  which  he  showered  rich  gifts  around  him; 
but  they  loved  Bartja,  and  believe'd  they  saw  in  him  the  image 
of  the  great  Cyrus,  the  "father  of  his  people." 

Cambyses  knew  well  that  all  this  love,  so  freely  given  to 
Bartja,  was  not  to  be  bought.  He  did  not  hate  his  younger 
brother,  but  he  felt  annoyed  that  a  youth  who  had  as  yet  done 
nothing  to  distinguish  himself  should  be  honored  and  revered 
as  if  he  were  already  a  hero  and  public  benefactor.  Whatever 
annoyed  or  displeased  him  he  considered  must  be  wrong;  where 
he  disapproved  he  did  not  spare  his  censures,  and  from  his  very 
childhood  Cambyses'  reproofs  had  been  dreaded  even  by  the 
mighty. 

The  enthusiastic  shout  of  the  populace,  the  overflowing  love 
of  his  mother  and  sister,  and,  above  all,  the  warm  encomiums 
expressed  by  Nitetis  had  excited  a  jealousy  which  his  pride  had 
never  allowed  hitherto.  Nitetis  had  taken  his  fancy  in  a  re- 
markable degree.  This  daughter  of  a  powerful  monarch,  like 
himself  disdaining  everything  mean  and  inferior,  had  yet 
acknowledged  him  to  be  her  superior,  and  to  win  his  favor  had 
not  shrunk  from  the  laborious  task  of  mastering  his  native 
)anguage.  These  qualities,  added  to  her  peculiar  style  of 
beauty,  which  excited  his  admiration  from  its  rare  novelty,  half 
Egyptian,  half  Greek  (her  mother  having  been  a  Greek),  had 
not  failed  to  make  a  deep  impression  on  him.  But  she  had  been 
liberal  in  her  praise  of  Bartja — that  was  enough  to  disturb 
'Cambyses'  mind  and  prepare  the  way  for  jealousy. 

As  he  and  his  brother  were  leaving  the  women's  apartments 
Cambyses  adopted  a  hasty  resolution  and  exclaimed:  "You 
p.sked  me  just  now  for  an  opportunity  of  proving  your  courage. 
1.  will  not  refuse.  The  Tapuri  have  risen ;  I  have  sent  troops  to 
the  frontier.  Go  to  Rhagae,  take  the  command,  and  show 
what  you  are  worth." 

"Thanks,  brother,"  cried  Bartja.  "May  I  take  my  friends, 
Darius,  Gyges  and  Zopyrus,  with  me?" 

"That  favor  shall  be  granted,  too.  I  hope  you  will  all  do  your 
duty  bravely  and  promptly,  that  you  may  be  back  in  three 
months  to  join  the  main  army  in  the  expedition  of  revenge  on 
the  Massagetae.  It  will  take  place  in  spring." 


172  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"I  will  start  to-morrow." 

"Then  farewell." 

"If  Auramazda  should  spare  my  life,  and  I  should  return 
victorious,  will  you  promise  to  grant  me  one  favor?" 

"Yes,  I  will." 

"Now,  then,  I  feel  confident  of  .victory,  even  if  I  should  have 
to  stand  with  a  thousand  men  against  ten  thousand  of  the 
enemy."  Bartja's  eyes  sparkled ;  he  was  thinking  of  Sappho. 

"Well,"  answered  his  brother,  "I  shall  be  very  glad  if  your 
actions  bear  out  these  glowing  words.  But,  stop;  I  have 
something  more  to  say.  You  are  now  twenty  years  of  age; 
you  must  marry;  Roxana,  daughter  of  the  noble  Hydarnes,  is 
marriageable,  and  is  said  to  be  beautiful.  Her  birth  makes 
her  a  fitting  bride  for  you." 

"Oh!   brother,  do  not  speak  of  marriage;   I— 

"You  must  marry,  for  I  have  no  children." 

"But  you  are  still  young;  you  will  not  remain  childless. 
Besides,  I  do  not  say  that  I  will  never  marry.  Do  not  be 
angry,  but  just  now,  when  I  am  to  prove  my  courage,  I  would 
rather  hear  nothing  about  women." 

"Well,  then,  you  must  marry  Roxana  when  you  return  from 
the  north.  But  I  should  advise  you  to  take  her  with  you  to  the 
field.  A  Persian  generally  fights  better  if  he  knows  that,  be- 
sides his  most  precious  treasures,  he  has  a  beautiful  woman  in 
his  tent  to  defend."* 

"Spare  me  this  one  command,  my  brother.  I  conjure  thee, 
by  the  soul  of  our  father,  not  to  inflict  on  me  a  wife  of  whom  I 
know  nothing  and  never  wish  to  know.  Give  Roxana  to 
Zopyrus,  who  is  so  fond  of  women,  or  to  Darius  or  Bessus, 
who  are  related  to  her  father,  Hydarnes.  I  cannot  love  her, 
and  should  be  miserable " 

Cambyses  interrupted  him  with  a  laugh,  exclaiming,  "Did 
you  learn  these  notions  in  Egypt,  where  it  is  the  custom  to  be 
contented  with  one  wife?  In  truth,  I  have  long  repented 
having  sent  a  boy  like  you  abroad.  I  am  not  accustomed  to 
bear  contradiction,  and  shall  listen  to  no  excuses  after  the  war. 
This  once  I  will  allow  you  to  go  to  the  field  without  a  wife;  J 
will  not  force  you  to  do  what  in  your  opinion  might  endanger 
your  valor.  But  it  seems  to  me  you  have  other  and  more 

*"Herodotus,"  vii,  83,  187,  "Xenoph.  and  Cyrop.,"  viii,  10. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  173 

secret  reasons  for  refusing  my  brotherly  proposal.  If  that  is 
the  case,  I  am  sorry  for  you.  However,  for  the  present,  you 
can  depart,  but  after  the  war  I  will  hear  no  remonstrances.  You 
know  me." 

"Perhaps  after  the  war  I  may  ask  for  the  very  thing  which  I 
am  refusing  now — but  never  for  Roxana!  It  is  just  as  unwise 
to  try  to  make  a  man  happy  by  force  as  it  is  wicked  to  compel- 
him  to  be  unhappy,  and  I  thank  you  for  granting  my  request." 

"Don't  try  my  powers  of  yielding  too  often.  How  happy 
you  look!  I  really  believe  you  are  in  love  with  some  one 
woman  by  whose  side  all  the  others  have  lost  their  charms." 

Bartja  blushed  to  his  temples,  and  seizing  his  brother's  hand, 
exclaimed:  "Ask  no  further  now,  accept  my  thanks  once  more, 
and  farewell.  May  I  bid  Nitetis  farewell,  too,  when  I  have 
taken  leave  of  our  mother  and  Atossa?" 

Cambyses  bit  his  lip,  looked  searchingly  into  Bartja's  face, 
and  rinding  that  the  boy  grew  uneasy  under  his  glance,  ex- 
claimed abruptly  and  angrily:  "Your  first  business  is  to  hasten 
to  the  Tapuri.  My  wife  needs  your  care  no  longer;  she  has 
other  protectors  now." 

So  saying  he  turned  his  back  on  his  brother  and  passed  on 
into  the  great  hall,  blazing  with  gold,  purple  and  jewels,  where 
the  chiefs  of  the  army,  satraps,  judges,  treasurers,  secretaries, 
counselors,  eunuchs,  door-keepers,  introducers  of  strangers, 
chamberlains,  keepers  of  the  wardrobe,  dressers,  cup-bearers, 
equerries,  masters  of  the  chase,  physicians,  eyes  and  ears  of  the 
king,  ambassadors  and  plenipotentiaries  of  all  descriptions* 
were  in  waiting  for  him. 

The  king  was  preceded  by  heralds  bearing  staves  and  fol- 
lowed by  a  host  of  fan,  sedan  and  footstool-bearers,  men  carry- 
ing carpets,  and  secretaries  who  the  moment  he  uttered  a  com- 

*The  "eyes  and  ears"  of  the  king  may  be  compared  to  our  police 
ministers.  Darius  may  have  borrowed  the  name  from  Egypt  where 
such  titles  as  the  "two  eyes  of  the  king  for  Upper  Egypt,  the  two  ears 
of  the  king  for  Lower  Egypt"  are  to  be  found  even  on  the  earlier 
monuments.  And  in  "Herodotus,"  ii,  114,  the  boy  Cyrus  calls  one  of 
his  playfellows  600a?,u6v  fiaenteue,  "the  eye  of  the  king."  "Herod." 
(i,  100),  makes  the  system  of  espionage  by  the  police  begin  under 
Dejoces,  in  whose  time  the  country  was  full  of  spies  and  listeners. 
The  other  court  officials  are  mentioned  by  different  ancient  writers 
and  enumerated  in  detail  by  Duncker,  "Geschichte  des  Alterthums," 
ii,  pp.  606  and  614. 


174  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

mand,  or  even  indicated  a  concession,  a  punishment  or  a 
reward,  hastened  to  note  it  down  and  at  once  hand  it  over  to  the 
officials  empowered  to  execute  his  decrees. 

In  the  middle  of  the  brilliantly  lighted  hall  stood  a  gilded 
table  which  looked  as  if  it  must  give  way  beneath  the  mass  of 
gold  and  silver  vessels,  plates,  cups  and  bowls,  which  were 
arranged  with  great  order  upon  it.  The  king's  private  table, 
the  service  on  which  was  of  immense  worth  and  beauty,  was 
placed  in  an  apartment  opening  out  of  the  large  hall  and  sepa- 
rated from  it  by  purple  hangings.  These  concealed  him  from 
the  gaze  of  the  revelers,  but  did  not  prevent  their  every  move- 
ment from  being  watched  by  his  eye.*  It  was  an  object  of  the 
highest  ambition  to  be  one  of  those  who  ate  at  the  king's  table, 
and  even  he  to  whom  a  portion  was  sent  might  deem  himself  a 
highly  favored  man. 

As  Cambyses  entered  the  hall  nearly  everyone  present 
prostrated  themselves  before  him;  his  relations  alone,  dis- 
tinguished by  the  blue-and-white  fillet  en  the  tiara,  contented 
themselves  with  a  deferential  obeisance. 

After  the  king  had  seated  himself  in  his  private  apartment 
the  rest  of  the  company  took  their  places,  and  then  a  tre- 
mendous revel  began.  Animals,  roasted  whole,  were  placed  on 
the  table,  and,  when  hunger  was  appeased,  several  courses  of 
the  rarest  delicacies  followed,  celebrated  in  later  times  even 
among  the  Greeks  under  the  name  of  ''Persian  dessert."f 

Slaves  then  entered  to  remove  the  remains  of  the  food. 
Others  brought  in  immense  jugs  of  wine,  the  king  left  his  own 
apartment,  took  his  seat  at  the  head  of  the  table,  numerous  cup- 
bearers filled  the  golden  drinking-cups  in  the  most  graceful 
manner,  first  tasting  the  wine  to  prove  that  it  was  free  from 
poison,  and  soon  one  of  those  drinking  bouts  had  begun  under 
the  best  auspices,  at  which,  a  century  or  two  later,  Alexander 
the  Great  forgot  not  only  moderation  but  even  friendship  itself. 

Cambyses  was  unwontedly  silent.     The  suspicion  had  en- 

*Heracl.,  "Cum.  Fragm.,"  i,  Plutarch,  "Artaxerxes,"  5,  tells  that  the 
king's  mother  and  his  favorite  wife  had  seats  at  his  own  table. 

f'Herodotus"  (i,  133)  writes  that  the  Persians  fancied  the  Greeks' 
hunger  was  never  satisfied,  because  nothing  special  was  brought  to 
table  at  the  end  of  the  meal.  We  read  in  modern  books  of  travel  that 
the  Persians  are  still  very  fond  of  delicacies.  Brtigsch,  "Reise  nach 
Persien,"  J.,  v.  Hammer  gives  quotations  from  a  poet  named  Abn, 
Ishak  who  only  wrote  in  praise  of  dainties. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  175 

tered  his  mind  that  Bartja  loved  Nitetis.  Why  had  he,  con- 
trary to  all  custom,  so  decidedly  refused  to  marry  a  noble  and 
beautiful  girl  when  his  brother's  childlessness  rendered  mar- 
riage an  evident  and  urgent  duty  for  him?  Why  had  he  wished 
to  see  the  Egyptian  princess  again  before  leaving  Babylon? 
and  blushed  as  he  expressed  that  wish?  and  why  had  she, 
almost  without  being  asked,  praised  him  so  warmly? 

"It  is  well  that  he  is  going,"  thought  the  king;  "at  least  he 
shall  not  rob  me  of  her  love.  If  he  were  not  my  brother  I 
would  send  him  to  a  place  from  whence  none  can  return !" 

After  midnight  he  broke  up  the  banquet.  Boges  appeared  to 
conduct  him  to  the  harem,  which  he  was  accustomed  to  visit  at 
this  hour,  when  sufficiently  sober. 

"Phaeditne  awaits  you  with  impatience,"  said  the  eunuch. 

"Let  her  wait!"  was  the  king's  answer.  "Have  you  given 
orders  that  the  palace  on  the  hanging-gardens  shall  be  set  in 
order?" 

"It  will  be  ready  for  occupation  to-morrow." 

"What  apartments  have  been  assigned  to  the  Egyptian 
princess?" 

"Those  formerly  occupied  by  the  sepond  wife  of  your  father, 
Cyrus,  the  deceased  Amytis." 

"That  is  well.  Nitetis  is  to  be  treated  with  the  greatest 
respect  and  to  receive  no  commands  even  from  yourself,  but 
such  as  I  give  you  for  her." 

Boges  bowed  low. 

"See  that  no  one,  not  even  Croesus,  has  admission  to  her 
before  my — before  I  give  further  orders." 

"Croesus  was  with  her  this  evening." 

"What  may  have  been  his  business  with  my  wife?" 

"I  do  not  know,  for  I  do  not  understand  the  Greek  language, 
but  I  heard  the  name  of  Bartja  several  times,  and  it  seemed  to 
me  that  the  Egyptian  had  received  sorrowful  intelligence.  She 
was  looking  very  sad  when  I  came,  after  Croesus  had  left,  to 
inquire  if  she  had  any  commands  for  me." 

"May  Ahriman  blast  thy  tongue,"  muttered  the  king,  and, 
then,  turning  his  back  on  the  eunuch,  he  followed  the  torch- 
bearers  and  attendants  who  were  in  waiting  to  disrobe  him,  to 
his  own  private  apartments. 

At  noon  on  the  following  day,  Bartja,  accompanied  by  his 
friends  and  a  troop  of  attendants,  started  on  horseback  for  the 


176  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

frontier.  Croesus  went  with  the  young  warriors  as  far  as  the 
city  gates,  and  as  their  last  farewells  and  embraces  were  being 
exchanged,  Bartja  whispered  to  his  old  friend:  "If  the  mes- 
senger from  Egypt  should  have  a  letter  for  me  in  his  bag  will 
you  send  it  on?" 

"Shall  you  be  able  to  decipher  the  Greek  writing?" 

"Gyges  and  love  will  help  me!" 

"When  I  told  Nitetis  of  your  departure  she  begged  me  to 
wish  you  farewell  and  tell  you  not  to  forget  Egypt." 

"I  am  not  likely  to  do  that." 

"The  gods  take  thee  into  their  care,  my  son.  Be  prudent, 
do  not  risk  your  life  heedlessly,  but  remember  that  it  is  no 
longer  only  your  own.  Exercise  the  gentleness  of  a  father 
toward  the  rebels;  they  did  not  rise  in  mere  self-will,  but  to 
gain  their  freedom,  the  most  precious  possession  of  mankind. 
Remember,  too,  that  to  show  mercy  is  better  than  to  shed  blood; 
the  sword  killeth,  but  the  favor  of  the  ruler  bringeth  joy  and 
happiness.  Conclude  the  war  as  speedily  as  possible,  for  war 
is  a  perversion  of  nature ;  in  peace  the  sons  outlive  the  fathers, 
but  in  war  the  fathers  live  to  mourn  for  their  slain  sons.  Fare- 
well, my  young  heroes,  go  forward  and  conquer!" 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


Cambyses  passed  a  sleepless  night.  The  feeling  of  jealousy, 
so  totally  new  to  him,  increased  his  desire  to  possess  Nitetis, 
but  he  dared  not  take  her  as  his  wife  yet,  as  the  Persian  law 
forbade  the  king  to  marry  a  foreign  wife*  until  she  had  become 

*In  the  book  of  Esther  this  year  is  said  to  have  been  specially  de- 
voted to  initiating  the  women  in  the  use  of  ointments,  spices  and  per- 
fumes. Surely  for  such  a  purpose  a  year  was  too  long;  may  it  not 
probably  have  been  used  for  instructing  the  foreign  women  in  the 
demands  made  upon  them  by  the  laws  of  Zoroaster?  In  confirmation 
of  this  conjecture  we  quote  the  following  passage:  "Vendidad  Fare  " 
xviii,  123,  124,  literally  translated: 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  177 

familiar  with  the  customs  of  Iran  and  confessed  herself  a  dis- 
ciple of  Zoroaster.* 

According  to  this  law  a  whole  year  must  pass  before  Nitetis 
could  become  the  wife  of  a  Persian  monarch ;  but  what  was  the 
law  to  Cambyses?  In  his  eyes  the  law  was  embodied  in  his  own 
person,  and  in  his  opinion  three  months  would  be  amply  suffi- 
cient to  initiate  Nitetis  in  the  Magian  mysteries,  after  which 
process  she  could  become  his  bride. 


"Who  takes  the  greatest  vengeance  on  thee,  thou  Ahura-Mazda? 
who  is  thy  worst  torment?" 

And  Ahura-Mazda  answers: 

"He  who  mingles  the  seed  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  of  those 
who  honor  the  Daevas  and  those  who  honor  them  not,  the  sinners 
and  the  holy  ones;  those  who  take  in  marriage  worshipers  of  Daevas 
ought  to  be  slain  sooner  than  venomous  serpents."  "Vend.,"  xviii, 
123.  The  privilege  of  becoming  a  Mazdayagnas  was  granted  to  for- 
eigners, though  the  Mazdayagnas  themselves  did  not  make  proselytes, 
considering  it  a  great  distinction  to  have  been  born  in  the  faith. 
During  the  dynasty  of  the  Sassanidae,  indeed,  the  professors  of  other 
religions  were  fiercely  persecuted. 

*Zoroaster,  really  Zarathustra  or  Zerethoschtro,  was  one  of  the 
greatest  among  founders  of  new  religions  and  law-givers.  His  name 
signified  "golden  star"  according  to  Anquetil  du  Perron.  But  this 
interpretation  is  as  doubtful  as  the  many  others  which  have  been 
attempted.  An  appropriate  one  is  given  in  the  essay  by  Kern  quoted 
below,  from  zara,  golden,  and  thwistra,  glittering;  thus  "the  gold- 
glittering"  one  xpvP°<t>ane-  It  is  uncertain  whether  he  was  born 
in  Bactria,  Media  or  Persia.  Anquetil  thinks  in  Urmi,  a  town  in 
Aderbejan.  His  father's  name  was  Poroschasp,  his  mother's  Dogdo, 
and  his  family  boasted  of  royal  descent.  The  time  of  his  birth  is 
very — Spiegel  says,  "hopelessly" — dark.  Anquetil  and  many  other 
scholars  would  place  it  in  the  reign  of  Darius,  a  view  which  has  been 
proved  to  be  incorrect  by  Spiegel,  Duncker  and  v.  Schack,  in  his 
introduction  to  the  translation  of  "Firdusi."  We  cannot  enter  more 
minutely  into  this  difficult  question  here,  but  venture  to  assure  our 
readers  that  the  religion  of  Zoroaster  was  in  force  at  the  time  of  our 
tale.  The  different  accounts  given  of  the  founder  himself  are  so 
uncertain  that  lately  a  young  Dutchman,  Prof.  Kern,  was  able  to 
attempt  to  disprove  the  existence  of  Zoroaster  entirely  and  reduce 
him  to  the  hero  of  a  myth.  This  treatise,  full  of  information  and 
written  with  great  ability,  is  to  be  found  in  the  "Verslagen  en  Mide- 
deelingen  der  k,  akad.  v,  Wetenschappen,  Afdeeling  Letterkunde." 
Amsterdam,  1867,  p.  132.  Justi,  in  his  hand-book  of  the  Zend  lan- 
guage, maintains  an  opposite  view.  The  "Avesta"  was  not  probably 
completed  till  later  about  the  time  of  Artaxerxes.  It  contained  twen- 
ty-one nosk,  or  parts.  The  "Vendidad"  alone  has  come  down  to  us 
complete. 


178  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

To-day  his  other  wives  seemed  hateful,  even  loathsome,  to 
him.  From  Cambyses'  earliest  youth  his  house  had  been  care- 
fully provided  with  women.  Beautiful  girls  from  all  parts  of 
Asia,  black-eyed  Armenians,  dazzlingly  fair  maidens  from  the 
Caucasus,  delicate  girls  from  the  shores  of  the  Ganges,  luxuri- 
ous Babylonian  women,  golden-haired  Persians  and  the  effemi- 
nate daughters  of  the  Median  plains;  indeed,  many  of  the 
noblest  Achaemenidae  had  given  him  their  daughters  in  mar- 
riage. 

Phaedime,  the  daughter  of  Otanes,  and  niece  of  his  own 
mother  Kassandane,  had  been  Cambyses'  favorite  wife  hitherto, 
or  at  least  the  only  one  of  whom  it  could  be  said  that  she  was 
more  to  him  than  a  purchased  slave  would  have  been.  But 
even  she,  in  his  present  sated  and  disgusted  state  of  feeling, 
seemed  vulgar  and  contemptible,  especially  when  he  thought 
of  Nitetis. 

The  Egyptian  seemed  formed  of  nobler,  better  stuff  than  they 
all.  They  were  flattering,  coaxing  girls;  Nitetis  was  a  queen. 
They  humbled  themselves  in  the  dust  at  his  feet;  but  when  he 
thought  of  Nitetis  he  beheld  her  erect,  standing  before  him,  on 
the  same  proud  level  as  himself.  He  determined  that  from 
henceforth  she  should  not  only  occupy  Phaedime's  place,  but 
should  be  to  him  what  Kassandane  had  been  to  his  father, 
Cyrus. 

She  was  the  only  one  of  his  wives  who  could  assist  him  by 
her  knowledge  and  advice;  the  others  were  all  like  children, 
ignorant,  and  caring  for  nothing  but  dress  and  finery;  living 
only  for  petty  intrigues  and  useless  trifles.  This  Egyptian  girl 
would  be  obliged  to  love  him,  for  he  would  be  her  protector, 
her  k>rd,  her  father  and  brother  in  this  foreign  land. 

"She  must,"  he  said  to  himself,  and  to  this  despot  to  wish  for 
a  thing  and  to  possess  it  seemed  one  and  the  same.  "Bartja 
had  better  take  care,"  he  murmured,  "or  he  shall  know  what 
fate  awaits  the  man  who  dares  to  cross  my  path." 


Nitetis,  too,  had  passed  a  restless  night 

The  common  apartment  of  the  women  was  next  to  her  own 
and  the  noise  and  singing  there  had  not  ceased  until  nearly 
midnight.  She  could  often  distinguish  the  shrill  voice  of  Boges 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  179 

joking  and  laughing-  with  these  women,  who  were  under  his 
charge.  At  last  all  was  quiet  in  the  wide  palace  halls  and  then 
her  thoughts  turned  to  her  distant  home  and  her  poor  sister 
Tachot,  longing  for  her  and  for  the  beautiful  Bartja,  who, 
Croesus  had  told  her,  was  going  to-morrow  to  the  war  and 
possibly  to  death.  At  last  she  fell  asleep,  overcome  by  the 
fatigue  of  the  journey  and  dreaming  of  her  future  husband. 
She  saw  him  on  his  black  charger.  The  foaming  animal 
shied  at  Bartja,  who  was  lying  in  the  road,  threw  his  rider  and 
dragged  him  into  the  Nile,  whose  waves  became  blood-red. 
In  her  terror  she  screamed  for  help:  her  cries  were  echoed  back 
from  the  pyramids  in  such  loud  and  fearful  tones  that  she 
awoke. 

But,  hark!  what  could  that  be?  That  wailing,  shrill  cry 
which  she  had  heard  in  her  dreams — she  could  hear  it  still. 

Hastily  drawing  aside  the  shutters  from  one  of  the  openings 
which  served  as  windows,  she  looked  out.  A  large  and  beau- 
tiful garden,  laid  out  with  fountains  and  shady  avenues,  lay 
before  her,  glittering  with  the  early  dew.*  No  sound  was  to  be 
heard  except  the  one  which  had  alarmed  her,  and  this,  too,  died 
away  at  last  on  the  morning  breeze.  After  a  few  minutes  she 
heard  cries  and  noise  in  the  distance,  then  the  great  city  awak- 
ing to  its  daily  work,  which  soon  settled  down  into  a  deep,  dull 
murmur  like  the  roaring  of  the  sea. 

Nitetis  was  by  this  time  so  thoroughly  awakened  from  the 
effect  of  the  fresh  morning  air  that  she  did  not  care  to  lie  down 
again.  She  went  once  more  to  the  window  and  perceived  two 
figures  coming  out  of  the  house.  One  she  recognized  as  the 
eunuch  Boges;  he  was  talking  to  a  beautiful  Persian  woman 

"The  Persian  gardens  were  celebrated  throughout  the  old  world, 
and  seem  to  have  been  laid  out  much  less  stiffly  than  the  Egyptian. 
Even  the  kings  of  Persia  did  not  consider  horticulture  beneath  their 
notice,  and  the  highest  among  the  Achaemenidae  took  an  especial 
pleasure  in  laying  out  parks,  called  in  Persian  Paradises.  "Herod- 
otus," v,  14,  49-52.  '  Xenoph.,  "Cyrop.,"  viii,  6,  9.  "Oecon.,"  4. 
"Diodor.,"  xvi,  41.  Plutarch,  "Alcibiades,"  24.  Their  admiration 
for  well-grown  trees  went  so  far  that  Xerxes,  finding  on  his  way  to 
Greece  a  singularly  beautiful  tree,  hung  ornaments  of  gold  upon  its 
branches.  Firdusi,  the  great  Persian  epic  poet,  compares  human 
beauty  to  the  growth  of  the  cypress  as  the  highest  praise  he  can  give. 
Indeed,  some  trees  were  worshiped  by  the  Persians;  and  as  the  tree 
of  life  in  the  Hebrew  and  Egyptian,  so  we  find  sacred  trees  in  their 
paradises. 


180  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

carelessly  dressed.  They  approached  her  window.  Nitetis  hid 
herself  behind  the  half-opened  shutter  and  listened,  for  she  fan- 
cied she  heard  her  own  name. 

"The  Egyptian  is  still  asleep,"  said  Boges.  "She  must  be 
much  fatigued  by  the  journey.  I  see,  too,  that  one  of  her  win- 
dows is  still  firmly  closed." 

"Then  tell  me  quickly,"  said  the  Persian.  "Do  you  really 
think  that  this  stranger's  coming  can  injure  me  in  any  way?" 

"Certainly,  I  do,  my  pretty  one." 

"But  what  leads  you  to  suppose  this?" 

"She  is  only  to  obey  the  king's  commands,  not  mine." 

"Is  that  all?" 

"Xo,  my  treasure.  I  know  the  king.  I  can  read  his  features 
as  the  Magi  read  the  sacred  books." 

"Then  we  must  ruin  her." 

"More  easily  said  than  done,  my  little  bird." 

"Leave  me  alone!  you  are  insolent." 

"Well,  but  nobody  can  see  us,  and  you  know  you  can  do 
nothing  without  my  help." 

"Very  well,  then,  I  don't  care.  But  tell  me  quickly  what  we 
can  do." 

"Thanks,  my  sweet  Phaedime.  Well,  for  the  present  we  must 
be  patient  and  wait  our  time.  That  detestable  hypocrite,  Croe- 
sus, seems  to  have  established  himself  as  protector  of  the  Egyp- 
tian ;  when  he  is  away  we  must  set  our  snares." 

The  speakers  were  by  this  time  at  such  a  distance  that  Nitetis 
could  not  understand  what  they  said.  In  silent  indignation 
she  closed  the  shutter,  and  called  her  maidens  to  dress  her.  She 
knew  her  enemies,  now — she  knew  that  a  thousand  dangers 
surrounded  her,  and  yet  she  felt  proud  and  happy,  for  was  she 
not  chosen  to  be  the  real  wife  of  Cambyses?  Her  own  worth 
seemed  clearer  to  her  than  ever  before,  from  a  comparison 
with  these  miserable  creatures,  and  a  wonderful  certainty  of 
ultimate  victory  stole  into  her  heart,  for  Nitetis  was  a  firm  be- 
liever in  the  magic  power  of  virtue. 

"What  was  that  dreadful  sound  I  heard  so  early?"  she  asked 
of  her  principal  waiting-woman,  who  was  arranging  her  hair. 

"Do  you  mean  the  sounding  brass,  lady?" 

"Scarcely  two  hours  ago  I  was  awakened  by  a  strange  and 
frightful  sound." 

"That  was  the  sounding  brass,  lady.     It  is  used  to  awaken 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  181 

the  young  sons  of  the  Persian  nobles,  who  are  brought  up  at 
the  gate  of  the  king.*  You  will  soon  become  accustomed  to 
it.  We  have  long  ceased  even  to  hear  it,  and  indeed  on  great 
festivals,  when  it  is  not  sounded,  we  awake  from  the  unaccus- 
tomed stillness.  From  the  hanging-gardens  you  will  be  able 
to  see  how  the  boys  are  taken  to  bathe  every  morning,  what- 
ever the  weather  may  be.  The  poor  little  ones  are  taken  from 
their  mothers  when  they  are  six  years  old,  .to  be  brought  up  with 
the  other  boys  of  their  own  rank  under  the  king's  eye." 

"Are  they  to  begin  learning  the  luxurious  manners  of  the 
court  so  early?" 

"Oh,  no !  the  poor  boys  lead  a  terrible  life.  They  are  obliged 
to  sleep  on  the  hard  ground,  to  rise  before  the  sun.  Their  food 
is  bread  and  water,  with  very  little  meat,  and  they  are  never 
allowed  to  taste  wine  or  vegetables.  Indeed  at  times  they  are 
deprived  of  food  and  drink  for  some  days,  simply  to  accustom 
them  to  privations.  When  the  court  is  at  Ekbatana  or  Pasar- 
gadaef  and  the  weather  is  bitterly  cold,  they  are  sure  to  be 
taken  out  to  bathe,  and  here  in  Susa  the  hotter  the  sun  the 
longer  and  more  difficult  the  marches  they  are  compelled  to 
take." 

"And  these  boys,  so  simply  and  severely  brought  up,  become 
in  after  life  such  luxurious  men?" 

"Yes,  that  is  always  the  case.  A  meal  that  has  been  waited 
for  is  all  the  more  relished  when  it  comes.  These  boys  see 
splendor  and  magnificence  around  them  daily ;  they  know  how 
rich  they  are  in  reality,  and  yet  have  to  suffer  from  hunger  and 
privation.  Who  can  wonder  if,  when  at  last  they  gain  their  lib- 
erty, they  plunge  into  the  pleasures  of  life  with  a  tenfold  eager- 
ness? But,  on  the  other  hand,  in  time  of  war,  or  when  going 
to  the  chase,  they  never  murmur  at  hunger  or  thirst,  spring  with 
a  laugh  into  the  mud  regardless  of  their  thin  boots  and  pur- 
ple trousers,  and  sleep  as  soundly  on  a  rock  as  on  their  beds 
of  delicate  Arabian  wool,  You  must  see  the  feats  these  boys 
perform,  especially  when  the  king  is  watching  them!  Cam- 
byses  will  certainly  take  you  if  you  ask  'him." 

*From  Xenophon,  "Cyrop.,"  viii,  8,  7.    "Anabasis,"  i,  9. 

fThe  summer  residences  of  the  kings  of  Persia,  where  it  is  some- 
times very  cold.  Ekbatana  lies  at  the  foot  of  the  high  Elburs 
(Orontes)  range  of  mountains  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  modern 
Hamadftn;  Pasargadae  not  far  from  Rachmet,  in  the  highlands  of 
Iran. 


182  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"I  know  those  exercises  already.  In  Egypt  the  girls  as  well 
as  the  boys  are  kept  to  such  gymnastic  exercises.  My  limbs 
were  trained  to  flexibility  by  running,  postures,  and  games 
with  hoops  and  balls."* 

"How  strange!  Here  we  women  grow  up  just  as  we  please, 
and  are  taught  nothing  but  a  little  spinning  and  weaving.  Is 
it  true  that  most  of  the  Egyptian  women  can  read  and  write?" 

"Yes,  nearly  all." 

"By  Mithras,  you  must  be  a  clever  people!  Scarcely  any 
of  the  Persians,  except  the  Magi  and  the  scribes,  learn  these 
difficult  arts.  The  sons  of  the  nobles  are  taught  to  speak  the 
truth,  to  be  courageous,  obedient  and  to  reverence  the  gods; 
to  hunt,  to  ride,  plant  trees  and  discern  between  herbs;  but 
whoever,  like  the  noble  Darius,  wishes  to  learn  the  art  of 
writing  must  apply  to  the  Magi.  Women  are  forbidden  to  turn 
their  minds  to  such  studies.  Now  your  dress  is  complete.  This 
string  of  pearls,  which  the  king  sent  this  morning,  looks  mag- 
nificent in  your  raven  black  hair,  but  it  is  easy  to  see  that  you 
are  not  accustomed  to  the  full  silk  trousers  and  high-heeled 
boots.  If,  however,  you  walk  two  or  three  times  up  and  down 
the  room  you  will  surpass  all  the  Persian  ladies  even  in  your 
walk!" 

At  this  moment  a  knock  was  heard  and  Boges  entered.  He 
had  come  to  conduct  Nitetis  to  Kassandane's  apartments,  where 
Cambyses  was  waiting  for  her. 

The  eunuch  affected  an  abject  humility  and  poured  forth  a 
stream  of  flattering  words,  in  which  he  likened  the  princess  to 
the  sun,  the  starry  heavens,  a  pure  fount  of  happiness,  and  a 
garden  of  roses.  Nitetis  deigned  him  not  a  word  in  reply,  but 
followed,  with  a  beating  heart,  to  the  queen's  apartment. 

In  order  to  keep  out  the  noonday  sun  and  produce  a  salu- 
tary half-light  for  the  blind  queen's  eyes,  her  windows  were 
shaded  by  curtains  of  green  Indian  silk.  The  floor  was  cov- 
ered with  a  thick  Babylonian  carpet,  soft  as  moss  under  the 
foot.  The  walls  were  faced  with  a  mosaic  of  ivory,  tortoise- 
shell,  gold,  silver,  ebony  and  amber.  The  seats  and  couches 
were  of  gold  covered  with  lions'  skins,  and  a  table  of  solid  sil- 
ver stood  by  the  side  of  the  blind  queen.  Kassandane  was 
seated  in  a  costly  armchair.  She  wore  a  robe  of  violet  blue, 

*See  note  p.  99. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  183 

embroidered  with  silver,  and  over  her  snow-white  hair  lay  a 
long  veil  of  delicate  lace  woven  in  Egypt,  the  ends  of  which 
were  wound  round  her  neck  and  tied  in  a  large  bow  beneath 
her  chin.*  She  was  between  sixty  and  seventy  years  old;  her 
face,  framed  as  it  were  into  a  picture  by  the  lace  veil,  was  ex- 
quisitely symmetrical  in  its  form,  intellectual,  kind  and  benevo- 
lent in  its  expression. 

The  blind  eyes  were  closed,  but  those  who  gazed  on  her  felt 
that,  if  open,  they  would  shine  with  the  gentle  light  of  stars. 
Even  when  sitting,  her  attitude  and  height  showed  a  tall  and 
stately  figure.  Indeed,  her  entire  appearance  was  worthy  of 
the  widow  of  the  great  and  good  Cyrus. 

On  a  low  seat  at  her  feet,  drawing  long  threads  from  a  golden 
spindle,  sat  the  queen's  youngest  child,  Atos-sa,  born  to  her  late 
in  life.  Cambyses  was  standing  before  her,  and  behind,  hardly 
visible  in  the  dim  light,  Nebenchari,  the  Egyptian  oculist. 

As  Nitetis  entered  Cambyses  came  toward  her,  and  led  her 
to  his  mother.  The  daughter  of  Amasis  fell  on  her  knees  before 
this  venerable  woman  and  kissed  her  hand  with  real  affection. 

"Be  welcome  here!"  exclaimed  the  blind  queen,  feeling  her 
way  to  the  young  girl's  head,  on  which  she  laid  her  hand.  "I 
have  heard  much  in  your  praise,  and  hope  to  gain  in  you  a 
dear  and  loving  daughter." 

Nitetis  kissed  the  gentle,  delicate  hand  again,  saying,  in  a 
low  voice:  "Oh,  how  I  thank  you  for  those  words!  Will  you, 
the  wife  of  the  great  Cyrus,  permit  me  to  call  you  mother?  My 
tongue  has  been  so  long  accustomed  to  this  sweet  word;  and 
now,  after  long  weeks  of  silence,  I  tremble  'with  joy  at  the 
thought  that  I  may  say  'my  mother'  once  more !  I  will  indeed 
try  to  deserve  your  love  and  kindness,  and  you — you  will  be  to 
me  all  that  your  loving  countenance  seems  to  promise?  Advise 
and  teach  me;  let  me  find  a  refuge  at  your  feet,  if  sometimes 
the  longing  for  home  becomes  too  strong  and  my  poor  heart 

*This  description  of  the  magnificence  of  the  queen-mother's  apart- 
ment is  in  no  way  exaggerated.  The  details  are  taken  from  Aeschylus' 
"Persians."  Xenophon's  "Cyropoedia"  and  "Anabasis,"  Arrian,  Cur- 
tius,  Strabo  and  others.  I  have  called  the  lace  worn  by  Kassandane 
"Egyptian,"  because  at  that  time  the  finest  known  lace  was  woven 
on  the  Nile,  and  c'assic  writers  maintain  that  the  proof  of  this  lies  in 
the  many  transparent  robes  which  are  to  be  seen  in  the  paintings 
on  Egyptian  monuments,  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  possesses  a  piece 
of  remarkably  fine  old  Egyptian  weaving. 


184  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

too  weak  to  bear  its  grief  or  joy  alone.  Oh,  be  my  mother!  tha*. 
one  word  includes  all  else!" 

The  blind  queen  felt  the  warm  tears  fall  on  her  hand;  she 
pressed  her  lips  kindly  on  the  weeping  girl's  forehead  and 
answered:  "I  can  understand  your  feelings.  My  apartments 
shall  be  always  open  to  you,  my  heart  ready  to  welcome  you 
here.  Come  when  you  will,  and  call  me  your  mother  with  the 
same  perfect  confidence  with  which  I,  from  my  whole  heart, 
name  you  my  daughter.  In  a  few  months  you  will  be  my  son's 
wife,  and  then  the  gods  may  grant  you  that  gift  which,  by  im- 
planting within  you  the  feelings  of  a  mother,  will  prevent 
you  from  feeling  the  need  of  one." 

"May  Ormuzd  hear  and  give  his  blessing!"  said  Cambyses. 
"I  rejoice,  mother,  that  my  wife  pleases  you,  and  I  know  that 
when  once  she  becomes  familiar  with  our  manners  and  cus- 
toms she  will  be  happy  here.  If  Nitetis  pay  due  heed  our  mar- 
riage can  be  celebrated  in  four  months." 

"But  the  law — "  began  his  mother. 

"I  command — in  four  months,  and  should  like  to  see  him 
who  dare  raise  an  objection.  Farewell!  Nebenchari,  use  your 
best  skill  for  the  queen's  eyes,  and  if  my  wife  permit,  you,  as 
her  countryman,  may  visit  her  to-morrow.  Farewell!  Bartja 
sends  his  parting  greetings.  He  is  on  the  road  to  the  Tapuri." 

Atossa  wiped  away  a  tear  in  silence,  but  Kassandane  an- 
swered: "You  would  have  done  well  to  allow  the  boy  to  remain 
here  a  few  months  longer.  Your  commander,  Megabyzus, 
could  have  subdued  that  small  nation  alone." 

"Of  that  I  have  no  doubt,"  replied  the  king;  "but  Bartja 
desired  an  opportunity  to  distinguish  himself  in  the  field ;  and 
for  that  reason  I  sent  him." 

"Would  he  not  gladly  have  waited  until  the  war  with  the 
Massagetae,  where  more  glory  might  be  gained?"  asked  the 
blind  woman. 

"Yes,"  said  Atossa,  "and  if  he  should  fail  in  this  war,  you  will 
have  deprived  him  of  the  power  of  fulfilling  his  most  sacred 
duty  of  avenging  the  soul  of  our  father!" 

"Be  silent!"  cried  Cambyses,  in  an  overbearing  tone,  "or 'I 
shall  have  to  teach  you  what  is  becoming  in  women  and  chil- 
dren. Bartja  is  on  far  too  good  terms  with  fortune  to  fall  in 
the  war.  He  will  live,  I  hope,  to  deserve  the  love  which  is  now 
so  freely  flung  into  his  lap  like  alms." 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  185 

"How  canst  thou  speak  thus?"  cried  Kassandane.  "In  what 
manly  virtue  is  Bartja  wanting?  Is  it  his  fault  that  he  has  had 
no  such  opportunity  of  distinguishing  himself  in  the  field  as 
thou  hast  had?  You  are  the  king  and  I  am  bound  to  respect 
your  commands,  but  I  blame  my  son  for  depriving  his  blind 
mother  of  the  greatest  joy  left  to  her  in  old  age.  Bartja  would 
have  gladly  remained  here  until  the  Massagetan  war,  if  your 
self-will  had  not  determined  otherwise." 

"And  what  I  will  is  good!"  exclaimed  Cambyses,  interrupt- 
ing his  mother,  and  pale  with  anger.  "I  desire  that  this  subject 
be  not  mentioned  again." 

So  saying,  he  left  the  room  abruptly  and  went  into  the 
reception  hall,  followed  by  the  immense  retinue  which  never 
quitted  him,  whithersoever  he  might  direct  his:  steps. 

An  hour  passed  and  still  Nitetis  and  the  lovely  Atossa  were 
sitting  side  by  side  at  the  feet  of  the  queen. 

The  Persian  women  listened  eagerly  to  all  their  new  friend 
could  tell  them  about  Egypt  and  its  wonders. 

"Oh!  how  I  should  like  to  visit  your  home!"  exclaimed 
Atossa.  "It  must  be  quite,  quite  different  from  Persia  and 
everything  else  that  I  have  s-een  yet.  The  fruitful  shores  of 
your  great  river,  larger  even  than  the  Euphrates,  the  temples 
with  their  painted  columns,  those  huge  artificial  mountains, 
the  pyramids,  where  the  ancient  kings  lie  buried — it  must  be 
wonderfully  beautiful.  But  what  pleases  me  best  of  all  is  your 
description  of  the  entertainments  where  men  and  women  con- 
verse together  as  they  like.  The  only  meals-  we  are  allowed 
to  take  in  the  society  of  men  are  on  new  year's  day  and  the 
king's  birthday,  and  then  we  are  forbidden  to  speak;  indeed, 
it  is  not  thought  right  for  us  even  to  raise  our  eyes.  How 
different  it  is  with  you !  By  Mithras,  mother,  I  should  like  to 
be  an  Egyptian,  for  we  poor  creatures  are  in  reality  nothing 
but  miserable  slaves ;  and  yet  I  feel  that  the  great  Cyrus-  was 
my  father,  too,  and  that  I  am  worth  quite  as  much  as  most  men. 
Do  I  not  speak  the  truth?  can  I  not  obey  as  well  as  com- 
mand? have  I  not  the  same  thirst  and  longing  for  glory?  could 
not  I  learn  to  *ide,  to  string  a  bow,  to  fight  and  swim  if  I  were 
taught  and  inured  to  such  exercises?" 

The  girl  had  sprung  from  her  seat  while  speaking,  her  eyes 
flashed  and  she  swung  her  spindle  in  the  air,  quite  unconscious 
that  in  so  doing  she  was  breaking  the  thread  and  entangling 
the  flax. 


186  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"Remember  what  is  fitting,"  reminded  Kassandane.  "A 
woman  must  submit  with  humility  to  her  quiet  destiny,  and 
not  aspire  to  imitate  the  deeds  of  men." 

"But  there  are  women  who  lead  the  same  lives-  as  men," 
cried  Atossa.  "There  are  the  Amazons  who  live  on  the  shores 
of  the  Thermodon  in  Themiscyra  and  at  Comana  on  the  Iris; 
they  have  waged  great  wars,  and  even  to  this  day  wear  men's 
armor." 

"Who  told  you  this?" 

"My  old  nurse,  Stephanion,  whom  my  father  brought  a  cap- 
tive from  Sinope  to  Pasargadae." 

"But  I  can  teach  you  better,"  said.Nitetis.  "It  is  true  that 
in  Themiscyra  and  Comana  there  are  a  number  of  women  who 
wear  soldier's  armor;  but  they  are  only  priestesses,  and  clothe 
themselves  like  the  war-like  goddess  they  serve,  in  order  to 
present  to  the  worshipers  a  manifestation  of  the  divinity  in 
human  form.  Croesus  says  that  an  army  of  Amazons  has 
never  existed,  but  that  the  Greeks  (always  ready  and  able  to 
turn  anything  into  a  beautiful  myth),  having  seen  these  priest- 
esses, at  once  transformed  the  armed  virgins  dedicated  to  the 
goddess  into  a  nation  of  fighting  women."* 

"Then  they  are  liars!"  exclaimed  the  disappointed  girl. 

"It  is  true  that  the  Greeks  have  not  the  same  reverence  for 
truth  as  you  have,"  answered  Nitetis,  "but  they  do  not  call  the 
men  who  invent  these  beautiful  stories  liars;  they  are  called 
poets." 

"Just  as  it  is  with  ourselves,"  said  Kassandane.  "The  poets 
who  sing  the  praises  of  my  husband  have  altered  and  adorned 
his  early  life  in  a  marvelous  manner;  yet  no  one  calls  them 
liars.  But  tell  me,  my  daughter,  is  it  true  that  these  Greeks 
are  more  beautiful  than  other  men,  and  understand  art  better 
even  than  the  Egyptians?" 

"On  that  subject  I  should  not  venture  to  pronounce  a  judg- 
ment. There  is  such  a  great  difference  between  the  Greek 
and  Egyptian  works  of  art.  When  I  went  into  our  own 
gigantic  temples  to  pray  I  always  felt  as-  if  I  must  prostrate 

• 

*Duncker,  "Geschichte  des  Alterthums,"  pp.  231-238.  It  has  been 
proved  that  the  Amazons  belong  to  the  regions  of  fable.  Strange  to 
say  the  Chinese  have  a  similar  myth.  In  the  ethnographical  museum 
at  Jena,  of  which  I  am  director,  there  is  an  interesting  Chinese  pict- 
ure of  an  Amazon  war. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  187 

myself  in  the  dust  before  the  greatness  of  the  gods,  and  entreat 
them  not  to  crush  so  insignificant  a  worm;  but  in  the  temple 
of  Hera  at  Samos-  I  could  only  raise  my  hands  to  heaven  in 
joyful  thanksgiving  that  the  gods  had  made  the  earth  so  beau- 
tiful. In  Egypt  I  always  believed  as  I  had  been  taught:  'Life 
is  a  sleep;  we  shall  not  awake  to  our  true  existence  in  the  king- 
dom of  Osiris  till  the  hour  of  death;'  but  in  Greece  I  thought: 
'I  am  born  to  live  and  to  enjoy  this  cheerful,  bright  and  bloom- 
ing world.' " 

"Ah!  tell  us  something  more  about  Greece,"  cried  Atossa; 
''but  first  Nebenchari  must  put  a  fresh  bandage  on  my  mother's 
eyes." 

The  oculist,  a  tall  grave  man  in  the  white  robes  of  ah  Egyp- 
tian priest,  came  forward  to  perform  the  necessary  operation, 
and,  after  being  kindly  greeted  by  Nitetis,  withdrew  once  more 
silently  into  the  background.  At  the  same  time  a  eunuch  en- 
tered to  inquire  whether  Croesus  might  be  allowed  to  pay  his 
respectful  homage  to  the  king's  mother. 

The  aged  king  soon  appeared,  and  was  welcomed  as  the  old 
and  tried  friend  of  the  Persian  royal  family.  Atossa,  with  her 
usual  impetuosity,  fell  on  the  neck  of  the  friend  she  had  so 
sorely  missed  during  his  absence;  the  queen  gave  him  her 
hand,  and  Nitetis  met  him  like  a  loving  daughter. 

"I  thank  the  gods  that  I  am  permitted  to  see  you  again,"  said 
Croesus.  "The  young  can  look  at  life  as  a  possession,  as  a 
thing  understood  and  sure,  but  at  my  age  every  year  must  be 
accepted  as  an  undeserved  gift  from  the  gods,  for  which  a  man 
must  be  thankful." 

"I  could  envy  you  for  this  happy  view  of  life,"  sighed  Kassan- 
dane.  "My  years  are  fewer  than  yours,  and  yet  every  new  day 
seems  to  me  a  punishment  sent  by  the  immortals." 

"Can  I  be  listening  to  the  wife  of  the  great  Cyrus?"  asked 
Croesus.  "How  long  is  it  since  courage  and  confidence  left 
that  brave  heart?  I  tell  you  you  will  recover  sight,  and  once 
more  thank  the  gods  for  a  good  old  age.  The  man  who  recov- 
ers after  a  serious  illness  values  health  a  hundredfold  more  than 
before;  and  he  who  regains  sight  after  blindness  must  be  an 
especial  favorite  of  the  gods.  Imagine  to  yourself  the  delight 
of  that  first  moment  when  your  eyes  behold  once  more  the 
bright  shining  of  the  sun,  the  faces  of  your  loved  ones,  the 
beauty  of  all  created  things,  and  tell  me,  would  not  that  out- 


188  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

weigh  even  a  whole  life  of  blindness  and  dark  night?*  In  the 
day  of  healing,  even  if  that  come  in  old  age,  a  new  life  will 
begin,  and  I  shall  hear  you  confess  that  my  friend  Solon  was 
right." 

"In  what  respect?"  asked  Atossa. 

"In  wishing  that  Mimnermos,  the  Colophonianf  poet,  would 
correct  the  poem  in  which  he  has  assigned  sixty  years  as  the 
limit  of  a  happy  life,  and  would  change  the  sixty  to  eighty." 

"Oh,  no!"  exclaimed  Kassandane.  "Even  were  Mithras  to 
restore  my  sight,  such  a  long  life  would  be  dreadful.  Without 
my  husband  I  seem  to  myself  like  a  wanderer  in  the  desert, 
aimless  and  without  a  guide." 

"Are  your  children,  then,  nothing  to  you,  and  this  kingdom, 
of  which  you  have  watched  the  rise  and  growth?" 

"No,  indeed!  but  my  children  need  me  no  longer,  and  the 
ruler  of  this  kingdom  is  too  proud  to  listen  to  a  woman's 
advice." 

On  hearing  these  words  Atossa  and  Nitetis  seized  each  one 
of  the  queen's  hands,  and  Nitetis  cried:  "You  ought  to  desire 
a  long  life  for  our  sakes.  What  should  we  be  without  your 
help  and  protection?" 

Kassandane  smiled  again,  murmuring  in  a  scarcely  audible 
voice:  "You  are  right,  my  children;  you  will  stand  in  need  of 
your  mother." 

"Now  you  are  speaking  once  more  like  the  wife  of  the  great 
Cyrus,"  cried  Croesus,  kissing  the  robe  of  the  blind  woman. 
"Your  presence  will,  indeed,  be  needed,  who  can  say  how 
soon?  Cambyses  is  like  hard  steel;  sparks  fly  wherever  he 
strikes.  You  can  hinder  these  sparks  from  kindling  a  destroy- 
ing fire  among  your  loved  ones,  and  this  should  be  your  duty. 
You  alone  can  dare  to  admonish  the  king  in  the  violence  of  his 
passion.  He  regards  you  as  his  equal,  and,  while  despising  the 
opinion  of  others,  feels  wounded  by  his  mother's  disapproval. 
Is  it  not,  then,  your  duty  to  abide  patiently  as  mediator  be- 
tween the  kings,  the  kingdom  and  your  loved  ones,  and  so,  by 
your.own  timely  reproofs,  to  humble  the  pride  of  your  son,  that 


These  words  cannot  surely  be  called  an  anachronism.  The  same 
feelings  are  expressed  in  the  beautiful  passage  of  Aristotle  in  Cicero's 
"De  Natura  Deorum." 

tMimnermos,  "Frag.  ed.  Bergk.,"  6.    Solon,  "Frag.,"  e.  1.  20. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  189 

he  may  be  spared  that  deeper  humiliation  which,  if  not  thus 
averted,  the  gods  will  surely  inflict?" 

"You  are  right,"  answered  the  blind  woman,  "but  I  feel  only 
too  well  that  my  influence  over  him  is  but  small.  He  has  been 
so  much  accustomed  to  have  his  own  will  that  he  will  follow  no 
advice,  even  if  it  come  from  his  mother's  lips." 

"But  he  must  at  least  hear  it,"  answered  Croesus,  "and  that 
is  much,  for  even  if  he  refuse  to  obey,  your  counsels  will,  like 
divine  voices,  continue  to  make  themselves  heard  within  him, 
and  will  keep  him  back  from  many  a  sinful  act.  I  will  remain 
your  ally  in  this  matter;  for,  as  Cambyses'  dying  father  ap- 
pointed me  the  counselor  of  his  son  in  word  and  deed,  I  ven- 
ture, occasionally,  a  bold  word  to  arrest  his  excesses.  Ours  is  the 
only  blame  from  which  he  shrinks;  we  alone  can  dare  to  speak 
our  opinion  to  him.  Let  us  courageously  do  our  duty  in  this 
our  office;  you,  moved  by  love  to  Persia  and  your  son,  and  I 
by  thankfulness  to  that  great  man  to  whom  I  owe  life  and  free- 
dom, and  whose  son  Cambyses  is.  I  know  that  you  bemoan  the 
manner  in  which  he  has  been  brought  up;  but  such  late  repent- 
ance must  be  avoided  like  poison.  For  the  errors  of  the  wise 
the  remedy  is  reparation,  not  regret;  regret  consumes  the  heart, 
but  the  effort  to  repair  an  error  causes  it  to  throb  with  a  noble 
pride." 

"In  Egypt,"  said  Nitetis,  "regret  is  numbered  among  the 
forty-two  deadly  sins.  One  of  our  principal  commandments 
is,  Thou  shalt  not  consume  thine  heart.'  "* 

"There,  you  remind  me,"  said  Croesus,  "that  I  have  under- 
taken to  arrange  for  your  instruction  in  the  Persian  customs,  re- 
ligion and  language.  I  had  intended  to  withdraw  to  Barene, 

*In  the  ritual  of  the  dead  (indeed,  in  almost  every  papyrus  of  the 
dead)  we  meet  with  a  representation  of  the  soul  whose  heart  is  being 
weighed  and  judged.  The  speech  made  by  the  soul  is  called  the 
negative  justification,  in  which  she  assures  the  forty-two  judges  of 
the  dead  that  she  has  not  committed  the  forty-two  deadly  sins  which 
she  enumerates.  This  justification  is  doubly  interesting  because  it 
contains  nearly  the  entire  moral  law  of  Moses,  which  last,  apart  from 
all  national  peculiarities  and  habits  of  mind,  seems  to  contain  the 
quintessence  of  human  morality — and  this  we  find  ready  paragraphed 
in  our  negative  justification.  "Todtenbuch  ed.  Lepsius,"  125.  We  can 
not  discusa  thid  question  philosophically  here,  but  the  law  of  Pythag- 
oras who  borrowed  so  much  from  Egypt,  and  the  contents  of  which 
are  the  same,  speaks  for  our  view.  It  is  similar  in  form  to  the 
Egyptian. 


190  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

the  town  which  I  received  as  a  gift  from  Cyrus,  and  there,  in 
that  most  lovely  mountain  valley,  to  take  my  rest;  but  for  your 
sake  and  for  the  king's  I  will  remain  here  and  continue  to  give 
you  instruction  in  the  Persian  tongue.  Kassandane  herself  will 
initiate  you  in  the  customs  peculiar  to  women  at  the  Persian 
court,  and  Oropastes,  the  high  priest,  has  been  ordered  by  the 
king  to  make  you  acquainted  with  the  religion  of  Iran.  He 
will  be  your  spiritual  and  I  your  secular  guardian."* 

At  these  words  Nitetis,  who  had  been  smiling  happily,  cast 
down  her  eyes  and  asked,  in  a  low  voice:  "Am  I  to  become 
unfaithful  to  the  gods  of  my  fathers,  who  have  never  failed  to 
hear  my  prayers?  Can  I,  ought  I  to  forget  them?" 

"Yes,"  said  Kassandane,  decidedly,  "thou  canst,  and  it  is  thy 
bounden  duty,  for  a  wife  ought  to  have  no  friends  but  those  her 
husband  calls  such.  The  gods  are  a  man's  earliest,  mightiest 
and  most  faithful  friends,  and  it  therefore  becomes  thy  duty,  as 
a  wife,  to  honor  them,  and  to  close  thine  heart  against  strange 
gods  and  superstitions  as  thou  wouldst  close  it  against  strange 
lovers." 

"And,"  added  Croesus,  "we  will  not  rob  you  of  your  deities; 
we  will  only  give  them  to  you  under  other  names.  As  truth 
remains  eternally  the  same,  whether  called  'maa,'  as  by  the 
Egyptians,  or  'Aletheia,'  as  by  the  Greeks,  so  the  essence  of  the 
deity  continues  unchanged  in  all  places  and  times.  Listen,  my 
daughter;  I  myself,  while  still  king  of  Lydia,  often  sacrificed 
in  sincere  devotion  to  the  Apollo  of  the  Greeks,  without  a  fear 
that  in  so  doing  I  should  offend  the  Lydian  sun-god  Sandon; 
the  lonians  pay  their  worship  to  the  Asiatic  Cybele,  and,  now 
that  I  have  become  a  Persian,  I  raise  my  hands  adoringly  to 
Mithras,  Ormuzd  and  the  lovely  Anahita.f  Pythagoras,  too, 

*When  a  Persian  child  begins  to  wear  the  girdle,  "kosti,"  he  or  she 
must  choose  a  guardian  from  among  the  yazatas,  and  an  adviser  in 
spiritual  things  from  among  the  desturs  or  priests.  This  adviser  is 
the  spiritual  father  of  the  child.  Spiegel,  "Avesta,"  ii,  "Einleitung," 
xxii. 

tAnahita  or  Ardl-cura  was  the  goddess  of  the  water-springs,  and 
has  been,  not  incorrectly,  compared  with  the  Greek  Aphrodite.  All 
waters  flowed  from  the  spring  Anahita  and  it  possessed  unlimited 
power  of  cleansing.  "Venidad,"  vii,  37-40.  The  supposition  of  our 
Dutch  translator  that  Anahita  was  originally  a  Semitic  goddess  who 
later  became  merged  into  the  Persian  female  genius  of  the  waters, 
has  much  in  its  favor;  we  have  expressed  the  same  opinion  our- 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  191 

whose  teaching  is  not  new  to  you,  worships  one  god  only, 
whom  he  calls  Apollo;  because,  like  the  Greek  sun-god,  he  is 
the  source  of  light  and  of  those  harmonies  which  Pythagoras 
holds  to  be  higher  than  all  else.  And,  lastly,  Xenophanes  of 
Colophon*  laughs  at  the  many  and  divers  gods  of  Homer  and 
sets  one  single  deity  on  high — the  ceaselessly  creative  might  of 
nature,  whose  essence  consists  of  thought,  reason  and  eternity. 
In  this  power  everything  has  its  rise,  and  it  alone  remains  un- 
changed, while  all  created  matter  must  be  continually  renewed 
and  perfected.  The  ardent  longing  for  some  being  above  us, 
on  whom  we  can  lean  when  our  own  powers  fail — the  won- 
derful instinct  which  desires  a  faithful  friend  to  whom  we  can 
tell  every  joy  and  sorrow  without  fear  of  disclosure — the 
thankfulness  with  which  we  behold  this  beautiful  world  and 
all  the  rich  blessings  we  have  received — these  are  the  feel- 
ings which  we  call  piety — devotion.  These  you  must  hold 
fast;  remembering,  however,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  world 
is  ruled  neither  by  the  Egyptian,  the  Persian,  nor  the  Greek  di- 
vinities apart  from  each  other,  but  that  all  these  are  one ;  and 
that  one  indivisible  deity,  how  different  soever  may  be  the 
names  and  characters  under  which  he  is  represented,  guides  the 
fate  of  men  and  nations."f 

The  two  Persian  women  listened  to  the  old  man  in  amaze- 
ment. Their  unpracticed  powers  were  unable  to  follow  the 
course  of  his  thoughts.  Nitetis,  'however,  had  understood  him 
thoroughly,  and  answered:  "My  mother  Ladice  was  the  pupil 
of  Pythagoras  and  has  told  me  something  like  this  already;  but 
the  Egyptian  priests  consider  such  views  to  be  sacrilegious,  and 

selves  elsewhere.  It  can  be  proved  that  she  was  not  worshiped  till  the 
reign  of  Artaxerxes  Mnemon.  Stickel,  the  celebrated  promoter  of 
the  study  of  oriental  coins,  is  the  most  eager  defender  of  the  former 
view.  "De  Dianae  Pers.  Monum.  Gr.;"  and  Windischmann  of  the 
latter:  "Die  Persishe  Anahita."  In  the  later  tradition  it  is  said 
that  Zoroaster  intrusted  her  with  the  seed  from  which  his  son  was  to 
spring  tip  at  the  last  judgment.  Anquetil,  "Zend-Avesta,"  ii,  p.  43. 

*A  celebrated  freethinker  who  indulged  in  bold  and  independent 
speculations  and  suffered  much  persecution  for  his  ridicule  of  the 
Homeric  deities.  He  flourished  at  the  time  of  our  history  and  lived 
to  a  great  age,  far  on  into  the  fifth  century.  We  have  quoted  some 
fragments  of  his  writings  above.  He  committed  his  speculations  also 
to  verse. 

fWhoever  is  acquainted  with  the  aphorisms  of  Xenophanes  will 
not  find  an  anachronism  in  this  speech. 


192  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

call  their  originators  despisers  of  the  gods.  So  I  tried  to  re- 
press such  thoughts;  but  now  I  will  resist  them  no  longer. 
What  the  good  and  wise  Croesus  believes  cannot  possibly  be 
evil  or  impious!  Let  Oropastes  come!  I  am  ready  to  listen 
to  his  teaching.  The  god  of  Thebes,  our  Ammon,  shall  be 
transformed  into  Ormuzd — Isis  or  Hathor,  into  Anahita,  and 
those  among  our  gods  for  whom  I  can  find  no  likeness  in  the 
Persian  religion  I  shall  designate  by  the  name  of  'the  deity.' " 

Croesus  smiled.  He  had  fancied,  knowing  how  obstinately 
the  Egyptians  clung  to  all  they  had  received  from  tradition  and 
education,  that  it  would  have  been  more  difficult  for  Nitetis  to 
give  up  the  gods  of  her  native  land.  He  had  forgotten  that  her 
mother  was  a  Greek,  and  that  the  daughters  of  Amasis  had 
studied  the  doctrines  of  Pythagoras.  Neither  was  he  aware  how 
ardently  Nitetis  longed  to  please  her  proud  lord  and  master. 
Even  Amasis,  who  so  revered  the  Samian  philosopher,  who  had 
so  often  yielded  to  Hellenic  influence,  and  who  with  good  rea- 
son might  be  called  a  free-thinking  Egyptian,  would  sooner 
have  exchanged  life  for  death  than  his  multiform  gods  for  the 
one  idea,  "deity." 

"You  are  a  teachable  pupil,"  said  Croesus,  laying  his  hand 
on  her  head,  "and  as  a  reward  you  shall  be  allowed  either  to 
visit  Kassandane  or  to  receive  Atossa  in  the  hanging-gardens 
every  morning  and  every  afternoon  until  sunset." 

This  joyful  news  was  received  with  loud  rejoicings  by  Atossa 
and  with  a  grateful  smile  by  the  Egyptian  girl. 

"And  lastly,"  said  Croesus,  "I  have  brought  some  balls  and 
hoops  with  me  from  Sais,  that  you  may  be  able  to  amuse  your- 
selves in  Egyptian  fashion." 

"Balls?"  asked  Atossa,  in  amazement;  "what  can  we  do  with 
the  heavy  wooden  things?"* 

^"That  need  not  trouble  you,"  answered  Croesus,  laughing. 
The  balls  I  speak  of  are  pretty  little  tilings  made  of  the  skins 
of  fish  filled  with  air  or  of  leather.  A  child  of  two  years  old  can 
throw  these,  but  you  would  find  it  no  easv  matter  even  to  lift 


*In  Persia  games  with  balls  are  still  reckoned  among  the  amuse- 
ments of  the  men.  One  player  drives  a  wooden  ball  to  the  other,  as 
m  the  English  game  of  cricket.  Chardin  ("Voyage  en  Perse,"  iii,  p. 
226)  saw  the  game  played  by  three  hundred  players.  There  is  much 
on  this  subject  in  Hyde.  "De  Ludis  Orientalium." 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  193 

one  of  those  wooden  balls  with  which  the  Persian  boys  play. 
Are  you  content  with  me,  Nitetis?" 

"How  can  I  thank  you  enough,  my  father?" 

"And  now  listen  to  my  plan  for  the  division  of  your  time. 
In  the  morning  you  will  visit  Kassandane,  chat  with  Atossa 
and  listen  to  the  teaching  of  your  noble  mother." 

Here  the  blind  woman  bent  her  head  in  approval. 

"Toward  noon  I  shall  come  to  teach  you,  and  we  can  talk 
sometimes  about  Egypt  and  your  loved  ones  there,  but  always 
in  Persian.  You  would  like  this,  would  you  not?'" 

Nitetis  smiled. 

"Every  second  day  Oropastes  will  be  in  attendance  to  initiate 
you  in  the  Persian  religion." 

"I  will  take  the  greatest  pains  to  comprehend  him  quickly." 

"In  the  afternoon  you  can  be  with  Atossa  as  long  as  you  like. 
Does  that  please  you,  too?" 

"O  Croesus!"  cried  the  young  girl,  and  kissed  the  old  man's 
hand. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  next  day  Nitetis  removed  to  the  country  house  in  the 
hanging-gardens,  and  began  a  monotonous,  but  happy  and  in- 
dustrious life  there,  according  to  the  rules  laid  down  by  Croe- 
sus. Every  day  she  was  carried  to  Kassandane  and  Atossa  in 
a  closely  shut-up  litter. 

Xitetis  soon  began  to  look  upon  the  blind  queen  as  a  be- 
loved and  loving  mother,  and  the  merry,  spirited  Atossa  nearly 
made  up  to  (her  for  the  loss  of  her  sister  Tachot,  so  far  away  on 
the  distant  Nile.  She  could  not  have  desired  a  better  compan- 
ion than  this  gay,  cheerful  girl,  whose  wit  and  merriment  ef- 
fectually prevented  homesickness  or  discontent  from  settling 
in  her  friend's  heart.  The  gravity  and  earnestness  of  Nitetis' 
character  were  brightened  by  Atossa's  gayety,  and  Atossa's  ex- 
uberant spirits  calmed  and  regulated  by  the  thoughtful  nature 
of  Nitetis. 

Both  Croesus  and  Kassandane  were  pleased  and  satisfied 
with  their  new  daughter  and  pupil,  and  Oropastes  extolled  her 
talents  and  industry  daily  to  Cambyses.  She  learned  the  Per- 
sian language  unusually  well  and  quickly;  Cambyses  only  vis- 


194  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

ited  his  mother  when  he  hoped  to  find  Nitetis  there,  and  pre- 
sented her  continually  with  rich  dresses  and  costly  jewels.  But 
the  highest  proof  of  his  favor  consisted  in  his  abstaining  from 
visiting  her  at  her  home"  in  the  hanging-gardens,  a  line  of  con- 
duct which  proved  that  he  meant  to  include  Nitetis  in  the  small 
number  of  his  real  and  lawful  wives,  a  privilege  of  which  many 
a  princess  in  his  harem  could  not  boast. 

The  grave,  beautiful  girl  threw  a  strange  spell  over  this 
strong,  turbulent  man.  Her  presence  alone  seemed  enough  to 
soften  his  stubborn  will,  and  he  would  watch  their  games  for 
hours,  his  eyes  fixed  on  her  graceful  movements.  Once,  when 
the  ball  had  fallen  into  the  water,  the  king  sprang  in  after  it,  re- 
gardless of  his  costly  apparel.  Nitetis  screamed  on  seeing  his 
intention,  but  Cambyses  handed  her  the  dripping  toy  with  the 
words:  "Take  care,  or  I  shall  be  obliged  to  frighten  you  again." 
At  the  same  time  he  drew  from  his  neck  a  gold  chain  set  with 
jewels  and  gave  it  to  the  blushing  girl,  who  thanked  him  with 
a  look  which  fully  revealed  her  feelings  for  her  future  husband. 

Croesus-,  Kassandane  and  Atossa  soon  noticed  that  Nitetis 
loved  the  king.  Her  former  fear  of  this  proud  and  powerful 
being  had  indeed  changed  into  a  passionate  admiration. 
She  felt  as  if  she  must  die  if  deprived  of  his  presence.  He 
seemed  to  her  like  a  glorious  and  omnipotent  divinity,  and  her 
wish  to  possess  him  presumptuous  and  sacrilegious;  but  its 
fulfillment  shone  before  her  as  an  idea  more  beautiful  even 
than  return  to  her  native  land  and  reunion  with  those  who,  till 
now,  had  been  her  only  loved  ones. 

Nitetis  herself  was  hardly  conscious  of  the  strength  of  her 
feelings,  and  believed  that  when  she  trembled  before  the  king's 
arrival  it  was  from  fear,  and  not  from  her  longing  to  behold 
him  once  more.  Croesus,  however,  had  soon  discovered  the 
truth,  and  brought  a  deep  blush  to  his-  favorite's  cheek  by  sing- 
ing to  her,  old  as  he  was,  Anacreon's  newest  song,  which  he 
had  learned  at  Sais  from  Ibykus: 

"We  read  the  flying  courser's  name 
Upon  his  side  in  marks  of  flame; 
And  by  their  turban'd  brows  alone 
The  warriors  of  the  east  are  known. 
But  in  the  lover's  glowing  eyes, 
The  inlet  to  his  bosom  lies; 
Through  them  we  see  the  tiny  mark, 
Where  love  has  dropp'd  his  burning  spark!"* 
*"Paegnion,"  15. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  195 

And  thus,  in  work  and  amusement,  jest,  earnest  and  mutual 
love,  the  weeks  and  months  passed  with  Nitetis.  Cambyses' 
command  that  she  was  to  be  happy  in  his  land  had  fulfilled 
itself,  and  by  the  time  the  Mesopotamia!!  spring-tide  (January, 
February  and  March),  which  succeeds  the  rainy  month  of 
December,  was  over,  and  the  principal  festival  of  the  Asiatics, 
the  new  year,  had  been  solemnized  at  the  equinox,  and  the 
May  sun  had  begun  to  glow  in  the  heavens,  Nitetis  felt  quite 
at  home  at  Babylon,  and  all  the  Persians  knew  that  the  young 
Egyptian  princess  had  quite  displaced  Phaedime,  the  daughter 
of  Otanes,  in  the  king's  favor  and  would  certainly  become  his 
first  and  favorite  wife.  -. 

Boges  sank  considerably  in  public  estimation,  for  it  was 
known  that  Cambyses  had  ceased  to  visit  the  harem,  and  the 
chief  of  the  eunuchs  had  owed  all  his  importance  to  the  women, 
who  were  compelled  to  coax  from  Cambyses  whatever 
Boges  desired  for  himself  or  others.  Not  a  day  passed  on 
which  the  mortified  official  did  not  consult  with  the  supplanted 
favorite  Phaedime  as  the  best  means  of  ruining  Nitetis,  but 
their  most  finely  spun  intrigues  and  artifices  were  baffled  by 
the  strength  of  the  king's  love  and  the  blameless  life  of  his 
royal  bride. 

Phaedime,  impatient,  mortified  and  thirsting  for  vengeance, 
was  perpetually  urging  Boges  to  some  decided  act;  he,  on  the 
contrary,  advised  patience. 

At  last,  however,  after  many  weeks,  he  came  to  her  full  of 
joy,  exclaiming:  "I  have  devised  a  little  plan  which  must 
ruin  the  Egyptian  woman  as  surely  asr  my  name  is  Boges. 
When  Bartja  comes  back,  my  treasure,  our  hour  will  have 
arrived." 

While  saying  this  the  creature  rubbed  his  fat,  soft  hands, 
and,  with  his  perpetual  fulsome  smile,  looked  as  if  he  was 
feasting  on  some  good  deed  performed.  He  did  not,  however, 
give  Phaedime  the  faintest  idea  of  the  nature  of  his  "little  plan," 
and  only  answered  her  pressing  questions  with  the  words: 
"Better  lay  your  head  in  a  lion's  jaws  than  your  secret  in  the 
ears  of  a  woman.  I  fully  acknowledge  your  courage,  but,  at 
the  same  time,  advise  you  to  remember  that,  though  a  man 
proves  his  courage  in  action,  a  woman's  is-  shown  in  obedience. 
Obey  my  words  and  await  the  issue  in  patience." 

Nebenchari,  the  oculist,  continued  to  attend  the  queen,  but 


196  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

so  carefully  abstained  from  all  intercourse  with  the  Persians 
that  he  became  a  proverb  among  them  for  his  gloomy,  silent 
ways.  During  the  day  he  was  to  be  found  in  the  queen's* 
apartments,  silently  examining  large  rolls  of  papyri,  which  he 
called  the  book  of  Athotes  and  the  sacred  Ambres;*  at  night, 
by  permission  of  the  king  and  the  satrapf  of  Babylon,  he  often 
ascended  one  of  the  high  towers  on  the  walls,  called  Tritan- 
taechmes,  in  order  to  observe  the  stars. 

The  Chaldean  priests,  the  earliest  astronomers,  would  have 
allowed  him  to  take  his  observations  from  the  summit  of  the 
great  temple  of  Bel,  their  own  observatory,  but  he  refused  this 
offer  decidedly,  and  persisted  in  his1  haughty  reserve.  When 
Oropastes  attempted  to  explain  to  him  the  celebrated  Babylo- 
nian sun-dial,  introduced  by  Anaximander  of  Miletus  into 
Greece,  he  turned  from  the  Magian  with  a  scornful  laugh, 
saying:  "We  knew  all  this  before  you  knew  the  meaning  of  an 
hour."$ 

*The  name  "the  holy  Ambres"  seems  to  have  been  corrupted  from 
the  first  words  of  the  Ritual  of  the  Dead.  Horapollo  (i,  58,  ed.  Lee- 
mans)  mentions  the  "Book  of  Diseases,"  and  Manetho,  in  "Africanus 
and  Eusebius,"  tells  that  Athotes,  whom  all  the  chronographs  and 
monuments  agree  in  calling  the  successor  of  Menes,  the  first  king 
of  Egypt,  had  written  books  on  anatomy.  But  all  the  scientific  and 
especially  medical  books  were  usually  ascribed  to  the  god  Thoth,  and 
it  may  easily  have  arisen  that  from  the  likeness  between  these  two 
names  the  king  gained  the  credit  which  was  really  due  to  the  god. 
There  are  said  to  have  been  six  medical  books  among  the  Egyptian 
sacred  writings.  Clem.  Alex.  "Strom,  ed.  Potter,"  p.  757  (vi,  4). 
lamblichus  "de  Myst.  Aeg.,"  viii,  4. 

tSatraps  were  the  governers  of  single  provinces,  and  ruled  with 
pretty  nearly  absolute  authority  as  representatives  of  the  king. 
Malcolm  ("Persia,"  i,  41)  was  the  first  to  propose  an  explanation  of 
the  name,  suggesting  that  it  may  have  been  taken  from  the  word 
chattra,  a  parasol,  and  pati,  lord — the  lord  of  the  parasol;  but  we  are 
glad  to  give  this  up  in  favor  of  a  later  one  by  Tielesch,  who  derives  the 
word  satrap  from  khshatra,  a  government,  and  pavan,  protector.  It 
is  true  that  on  the  monuments  we  see  the  great  men  of  the  kingdom 
performing  the  office  of  parasol-bearers  behind  the  king  with  great 
dignity  (Niebuhr,  Texier,  Layard,  etc.),  but  in  Bactrian  and  in  the 
Zend-Avesta  they  are  called  shoitrapaita,  "lord  of  a  province,"  and 
shoitrapan,  "protector  of  a  province."  The  Dutch  translator  of  this 
note,  Dr.  Rogge,  takes  the  latter  view.  We  will  only  remark  that  in 
old  Persian,  as  well  as  in  German,  the  idea  of  covering  and  sheltering 
as  with  a  parasol  is  conveyed  in  the  word  used  for  the  act  of  protecting 
or  defending. 

^Though  the  Chaldeans,  as  Aristotle  was  told,  possessed  astronom- 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  197 

Nitetis  had  shown  Nebenchari  much  kindness,  yet  he  took 
no  interest  in  her, .seemed,  indeed,  to  avoid  her  purposely,  and 
on  her  asking  whether  she  had  displeased  or  offended  him, 
answered:  "For  me  you  are  a  stranger.  How  can  I  reckon 
those  my  friends  who  can  so  gladly  and  so  quickly  forget 
those  they  loved  best,  their  gods,  and  the  customs  of  their 
native  land?" 

Boges  quickly  discovered  this  state  of  feeling  on  the  part 
of  Xebenchari,  and  took  much  pains  to  secure  him  as  an  ally, 
but  the  physician  rejected  the  eunuch's-  flatteries,  gifts,  and  at- 
tentions with  dignity. 

Xo  sooner  did  an  Angare  appear  in  the  court  of  the  palace 
with  dispatches  for  the  king  than  Boges  hastened  to  inquire 
whether  news  from  Tapuri  had  arrived. 

At  length  the  desired  messenger  appeared,  bringing  word 
that  the  rebels  were  subdued  and  Bartja  on  the  point  of  return- 
ing. 

Three  weeks  passed — fresh  messengers  arrived  from  day  to 
day  announcing  the  approach  of  the  victorious  prince;  the 
streets  glittered  once  more  in  festal  array,  the  army  entered 
the  gates  of  Babylon,  Bartja  thanked  the  rejoicing  multitude, 
and  a  short  time  after  was  in  the  arms  of  his  blind  mother. 

Cambyses  received  his  brother  with  undisguised  warmth, 
and  took  him  to  the  queen's  apartments  when  he  knew  that 
Nitetis  would  be  there. 

For  he  was  sure  the  Egyptian  girl  loved  him;  his  previous 
jealousy  seemed  a  silly  fancy  now,  and  he  wished  to  give  Bartja 
an  opportunity  of  seeing  how  entirely  he  trusted  his  bride. 

Cambyses^  love  had  made  him  mild  and  gentle,  unwearied 
in  giving  and  in  doing  good.  His  wrath  slumbered  for  a  season, 
and  around  the  spot  where  the  heads  of  those  who  had  suffered 
capital  punishment  were  exhibited  as  a  warning  to  their  fellow- 
men,  the  hungry,  screeching  crows  now  wheeled  in  vain. 

ical  calculations  reaching  as  far  back  as  the  year  1903  before  Alexan- 
der—2234  B.  C.— ("Simplicius  Comm.,"  in  Arist.  "de  Caelo,"  i,  ii,  Lep- 
sius,  "Chronologic,"  8,  9)  yet  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  Egyptian  as- 
tronomy is  still  older.  Diodorus,  indeed  (i,  81),  tells  us  the  Egyptian 
priests  maintained  that  the  Chaldeans  were  Egyptian  colonists  and 
owed  their  fame  as  astronomers  to  the  teaching  of  the  Egyptian 
priests.  There  may  be  some  truth  in  the  latter  assertion,  but  it  is 
more  likely  that  the  Egyptians  came  from  Western  Asia  than  that  the 
Chaldeans  came  from  Egypt. 


198  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

The  influence  of  the  insinuating  eunuchs  (a  race  who  had 
never  been  seen  within  the  gates  of  Cyrus  until  the  incorpora- 
tion of  Media,  Lydia  and  Babylon,  in  which  countries  they 
had  filled  many  of  the  highest  offices  at  court  and  in  the  state), 
was  now  waning,  and  the  importance  of  the  noble  Achaemen- 
idae  increasing  in  proportion;  for  Cambyses  applied  oftener 
to  the  latter  than  to  the  former  for  advice  in  matters  relating 
to  the  welfare  of  the  country. 

The  aged  Hystaspes,  father  of  Darius,  governor  of  Persia 
proper  and  cousin  to  the  king;  Pharnaspes,  Cambyses'  grand- 
father on  the  mother's  side;  Otanes,  his  uncle  and  father-in- 
/aw;  Intaohernes1,  Aspathines,  Gobryas,  Hydarnes,  the  gen- 
eral Megabyzus,*  father  of  Zqpyrus,  the  envoy  Prexaspes,  the 
noble  Croesus,  and  the  old  warrior  Araspes;  in  short,  the 
flower  of  the  ancient  Persian  aristocracy  were  now  at  the  court 
of  Cambyses. 

To  this  must  be  added  that  the  entire  nobility  of  the  realm, 
the  satraps  or  governors  of  the  provinces,  and  the  chief  priests 
from  every  town  were  also  assembled  at  Babylon  to  celebrate 
the  king's  birthday.f 

The  entire  body  of  officials  and  deputies  streamed  from  the 
provinces  up  to  the  royal  city,  bringing  presents  to  their  ruler 
and  good  wishes;  they  came  also  to  take  part  in  the  great  sacri- 
fices at  which  horses,  stags,  bulls  and  asses  were  slaughtered  in 
thousands  as  offerings  to  the  gods. 

At  this  festival  all  the  Persians  received  gifts,  every  man  was 
allowed  to  ask  a  petition  of  the  king,  which  seldom  remained 
unfulfilled,  and  in  every  city  the  people  were  feasted  at  the 

"These  names,  given  by  Herodotus,  are  to  be  found  with  slight  dif- 
ferences of  form,  in  the  inscription  of  Behistun  or  Bisitun.  Spiegel, 
"Altpersische  Keilschriften."  Behistun  inscription,  iv,  xviii,  p.  37. 
Rawlinson,  "Journ.  of  Asiatic  Soc.,"  x,  p.  12. 

tThe  king's  birthday  was  the  principal  feast  among  the  Persians, 
and  called  "the  perfect  feast."  "Herod.,"  i,  133.  Birthdays  were  held 
in  much  honor  by  the  ancients,  and  more  especially  those  of  their 
kings.  Both  the  great  bilingual  Egyptian  tablets  which  we  possess 
(the  Rosetta  stone,  line  10  of  hieroglyphic  text;  Gr.  text,  line  46,  and 
the  edict  of  Canopus  ed.  Lepsius,  hieroglyphic  text  1,  3,  Gr.  text  1,  5) 
mention  the  celebration  of  the  birthday  of  one  of  the  Ptolemies,  and 
even  of  Rameses  II,  so  early  as  the  fourteenth  century  B.  C.,  we  read: 
"Nehem  em  pet  heru  em  mese-t-f."  "There  was  joy  in  heaven  on  his 
birthday."  Stela  of  Kuban,  1,  3.  Drumann  quotes  a  number  of  pas- 
sages referring  to  the  birthdays  of  the  kings  in  his  Greek  text  to  the 
Rosetta  stone.  See,  also,  Ebers,  "Aegypten,"  i,  p.  334. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  1S9 

royal  expense.  Cambyses  had  commanded  that  his  marriage 
with  Nitetis  should  be  celebrated  eight  days  after  the  birthday, 
and  all  the  magnates  of  the  realms  should  be  invited  to  the 
ceremony. 

The  streets  of  Babylon  swarmed  with  strangers,  the  colossal 
palaces  on  both  shores  of  the  Euphrates  were  overfilled,  and  all 
the  houses  stood  adorned  in  festal  brightness. 

The  zeal  thus  displayed  by  his  people — the  vast  throng  of 
human  beings — representing  and  bringing  around  him,  as  it 
were,  his  entire  kingdom,  contributed  not  a  little  to  raise  the 
king's  spirits. 

His  pride  was  gratified;  and  the  only  longing  left  in  his 
heart  had  been  stilled  by  Nitetis'  love.  For  the  first  time  in 
his  life  he  believed  himself  completely  happy,  and  bestowed 
his  gifts,  not  only  from  a  sense  of  duty  as  king  of  Persia,  but 
because  the  act  of  giving  was  in  itself  a  pleasure. 

Megabyzus  could  not  extol  the  deeds  of  Bartja  and  his 
friends  too  highly.  Cambyses  embraced  the  young  warriors, 
gave  them  horses  and  gold  chains,  called  them  "brothers"  and 
reminded  Bartja  that  he  had  promised  to  grant  him  a  petition 
if  he  returned  victorious. 

At  this  Bartja  cast  down  his  eyes,  not  knowing  at  first  in 
what  form  to  begin  his  request,  and  the  king  answered,  laugh- 
ing: "Look,  my  friends;  our  young  hero  is  blushing  like  a 
girl!  It  seems  I  shall  have  to  grant  something  important; 
so  he  had  better  wait  until  my  birthday,  and  then  at  supper, 
when  the  wine  has  given  him  courage,  he  shall  whisper  in  my 
ear  what  he  is  now  afraid  to  utter.  Ask  much,  Bartja;  I  am 
happy  myself  and  wish  all  my  friends  to  be  happy,  too." 

}3artja  only  smiled  in  answer  and  went  to  his  mother;  for  he 
had  not  yet  opened  his  heart  to  her  on  the  matter  which  lay 
so  near  it. 

He  was  afraid  of  meeting  with  decided  opposition;  but 
Croesus  had  cleared  the  way  for  him  by  telling  Kassandane  so 
much  in  praise  of  Sappho,  her  virtues  and  her  graces,  her 
talents  and  skill,  that  Nitetis  and  Atossa  maintained  she  must 
have  given  the  old  man  a  magic  potion,  and  Kassandane,  after 
a  short  resistance,  yielded  to  her  darling's  entreaties. 

"A  Greek  woman  the  lawful  wife  of  a  Persian  prince  of 
the  blood!"  cried  the  blind  woman.  "Unheard  of!  What 
will  Cambyses  say?  How  can  we  gain  his  consent?" 


200  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"On  that  matter  you  may  be  at  ease,  my  mother,"  answered 
Bartja.  "I  am  as  certain  that  my  brother  will  give  his  con- 
sent as  I  am  that  Sappho  will  prove  an  ornament  and  honor 
to  our  house." 

"Croesus  has  already  told  me  much  in  favor  of  this  maiden," 
answered  Kassandane,  "and  it  pleases  me  that  thou  hast  at 
last  resolved  to  marry;  but  nevertheless  this  alliance  does  not 
seem  suitable  for  a  son  of  Cyrus.  And  have  you  forgotten 
that  the  Achaemenidae  will  probably  refuse  to  recognize  the 
child  of  a  Greek  mother  as  their  future  king,  if  Cambyses 
should  remain  childless?" 

"Mother,  I  fear  nothing;  for  my  heart  is  not  set  upon  the 
crown.  And  indeed  many  a  king  of  Persia  has  had  a  mother 
of  far  lower  parentage  than  my  Sappho.*  I  feel  persuaded 
that  when  my  relations  see  the  precious  jewel  I  have  won 
on  the  Nile  not  one  of  them  will  chide  me." 

"The  gods  grant  that  Sappho  may  be  equal  to  our  Xitetis !" 
answered  Kassandane.  "I  love  her  as  if  she  were  my  own 
child,  and  bless  the  day  which  brought  her  to  Persia.  The 
warm  light  of  her  eyes  has-  melted  your  brother's  hard  heart; 
her  kindness  and  gentleness  bring  beauty  into  the  night  of 
my  blind  old  age  and  her  sweet  earnestness  and  gravity  have 
changed  your  sister  Atossa  from  an  unruly  child  into  a  gentle 
maiden.  But  now  call  them  (they  are  playing  in,  the  garden), 
and  we  will  tell  them  of  the  new  friend  they  are  to  gain 
through  you." 

"Pardon  me,  my  mother,"  answered  Bartja,  "but  I  must 
beg  you  not  to  tell  my  sister  until  we  are  sure  of  the  king's 
cons-ent." 

"You  are  right,  my  son.  We  must  conceal  your  wish,  to 
save  Nitetis  and  Atossa  from  a  possible  disappointment.  A 
bright  hope  unfulfilled  is  harder  to  bear  than  an  unexpected 
sorrow.  So  let  us  wait  for  your  brother's  consent,  and  may 
the  gods  give  their  blessing!" 

*Thus,  for  instance,  we  read  in  Firdusi's  "Book  of  the  Kings"  that 
the  race  of  Feridun  was  perpetuated  by  a  female  slave.  And  Sal,  the 
father  of  Rustem,  married  a  foreigner  with  whom  he  had  fallen  in 
love.  Whether  the  heroes  of  the  Persian  Epos  were  purely  mythical 
personages  (a  fact  which  has  never  been  proved)  or  not,  still  the  mar- 
riage of  a  prince  and  slave-girl  was  by  no  means  an  unheard  of  occur- 
rence. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  201 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  king's  birthday  the  Persians 
offered  their  sacrifices  on  the  shores  of  the  Euphrates.  A 
huge  altar  of  silver  had  been  raised  an  an  artificial  hill.  On 
this  a  mighty  fire  had  been  kindled,  from  which  flames  and 
sweet  odors  rose  toward  heaven.  White-robed  Magi  fed  the 
Are  with  pieces  of  daintily  cut'  sandal-wood  and  stirred  it 
with  bundles  of  rods. 

A  cloth,  the  paiti-dhana,*  was  bound  round  the  heads:  of 
the  priests,  the  ends  of  which  covered  the  mouth,  and  thus 
preserved  the  pure  fire  from  pollution  by  human  breath.  The 
victims  had  been  slaughtered  in  a  meadow  near  the  river, 
the  flesh  cut  into  pieces,f  sprinkled  with  salt,  and  laid  out 
on  tender  grasses,  sprouts  of  clover,  myrtle  blossoms,  and 
laurel  leaves,  that  the  beautiful  daughter  of  Ormuzd,  the 
patient,  sacred  earth,  might  not  be  touched  by  aught  that 
was  dead  or  bleeding. 

Oropastes,  the  chief  destur  (priest),  now  drew  near  the  fire 
and  cast  fresh  butter  into  it.  The  flames  leaped  up  into  the 
air  and  all  the  Persians  fell  on  their  knees  and  hid  their 
faces,  in  the  belief  that  the  fire  was  now  ascending  to  their 
great  god  and  father.  The  Magian  then  took  a  mortar,  laid 
some  leaves  and  stalks  of  the  sacred  herb  Haomai  within  it, 
crushed  them  and  poured  the  ruddy  juice,  the  food  of  the 
gods,  into  the  flames. 

After  this  he  raised  his  hands  to  heaven,  and,  while  the 
other  priests  continually  fed  the  flames  into  a  wilder  blaze 
by  casting  in  fresh  butter,  sang  a  long  prayer  out  of  the 
sacred  books.  In  this  prayer  the  blessing  of  the  gods  was 
called  down  on  everything  pure  and  good,  but  principally 

*The  Persians  were  ordered  to  hold  this  little  square  piece  of  cloth 
before  their  mouths  when  they  prayed.  It  was  from  two  to  seven 
fingers  broad.  Anquetil  gives  a  drawing  of  it  in  his  "Zend-Avesta." 
Strabo  speaks  of  the  "paiti-dhana,"  p.  733.  He  says  the  ends  of  the 
cloth  used  as  a  covering  for  the  head  hung  down  over  the  mouth. 

f'Herod.."  i,  132.  "Strabo,"  733.  Anquetil  gives  descriptions  and 
drawings  of  all  the  instruments  of  sacrifice  used  by  the  modern 
Parsees. 

JHaoma  or  Soma  is  the  name  of  a  plant,  the  juice  of  which  is  said 
to  have  been  the  food  of  the  gods;  it  was  tasted  and  poured  by  drops 
into  the  fire  at  certain  religious  ceremonies.  Haoma  was  also  a  god. 
For  particulars  on  the  worship  of  Soma  among  the  Arians  see  Wind- 
ischman,  "Abhandlungpn  rler  K.  B.  Aoaclemie  der 
iv,  I 


202        .  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

on  the  king  and  his  entire  realm.  The  good  spirits  of  lightv 
life  and  truth;  of  all  noble  deeds;  of  the  earth,  the  universal 
giver;  of  the  refreshing  waters,  the  shining  metals,  the  pas- 
tures, trees  and  innocent  creatures,  were  praised;  the  evil 
spirits  of  darkness;  of  lying,  the  deceiver  of  mankind;  of 
disease,  death  and  sin;  of  the  rigid  cold;  the  desolating  heat; 
of  all  odious  dirt  and  vermin,  were  cursed,  together  with  their 
father,  the  malignant  Ahriman.  At  the  end  all  present  joined 
in  singing  the  festival  prayer:  "Purity  and  glory  are  sown 
for  them  that  are  pure  and  upright  in  heart."* 

The  sacrificial  ceremony  was  concluded  with  the  king's 
prayer,  and  then  Cambyses,  arrayed  in  his  richest  robes, 
ascended  a  splendid  chariot  drawn  by  four  snow-white  Xicaean 
horses  and  studded  with  topazes,  cornelian  and  amber,  and 
was  conveyed  to  the  great  reception-hall,  where  the  deputies 
and  officers  from  the  provinces  awaited  him. 

As  soon  as  the. king  and  his  retinue  had  departed  the  priests 
selected  the  best  pieces  of  flesh  which  had  been  offered  in 
sacrifice  for  themselves,  and  allowed  the  thronging  crowd  to 
take  the  rest. 

The  Persian  divinities*  disdained  sacrifices  in  the  light  of 
food,  requiring  only  the  souls  of  the  slaughtered  animals,  and 
many  a  poor  man,  especially  among  the  priests,  subsisted  on 
the  flesh  of  the  abundant  royal  sacrifices. 

The  prayer  offered  up  by  the  Magian  was  a  model  for  those 
of  the  Persian  people.  No  man  was  allowed  to  ask  anything 
of  the  gods  for  himself  alone.  Every  pious  soul  was  rather 
to  implore  blessings  for  his  nation;  for  was  not  each  only  a 
part  of  the  whole?  and  did  not  each  man  share  in  the  bless- 
ings granted  to  the  whole  kingdom?  But,  especially,  they 
were  commanded  to  pray  for  the  king,  in  whom  the  realm 
was  embodied  and  shadowed  forth.  It  was  this  beautiful  sur- 
render of  self  for  the  public  weal  that  had  made  the  Persians 
great. 

The  doctrines  of  the  Egyptian  priesthood  represented  the 
Pharaohs  as  actual  divinities,  while  the  Persian  monarchs 
were  only  called  "sons  of  the  gods;"f  yet  the  power  of  the 

*This  beautiful  prayer  is  to  be  repeated  by  the  Parsees  on  awak- 
ing from  sleep.  Anquetil,  "Zend-Avesta,"  ii,  564. 

tin  later  times,  however,  the  Persian  kings  allowed  themselves  to 
be  worshiped  as  gods,  also,  though  only  indirectly, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  203 

latter  was  far  more  absolute  and  unfettered  than  that  of  the 
former;  the  reason  for  this  being  that  the  Persians  had  been 
wise  enough  to  free  themselves  from  priestly  domination, 
while  the  Pharaohs,  as  we  have  seen,  if  not  entirely  under 
the  dominion  of  the  priestly  caste,  were  yet  under  its  influence 
in  the  most  important  matters. 

The  Egyptian  intolerance  of  all  strange  religions1  was 
unknown  in  Asia.  The  conquered  Babylonians  were  allowed 
by  Cyrus  to  retain  their  own  gods  after  their  incorporation 
in  the  great  Asiatic  kingdom.  The  Jews,  lonians  and  inhab- 
itants of  Asia  Minor,  in  short  the  entire  mass  of  nations  sub- 
ject to  Cambyses,  remained  unmolested  in  possession  of  their 
hereditary  religions  and  customs. 

Beside  the  great  altar,  therefore,  might  be  seen  many  a 
smaller  sacrificial  flame  kindled  in  honor  of  their  own  divini- 
ties by  the  envoys  from  the  conquered  provinces  to  this  great 
birthday  feast. 

Viewed  from  a  distance  the  immense  city  looked  like  a 
gigantic  furnace.  Thick  clouds  of  smoke  hovered  over  its 
towers,  obscuring  the  light  of  the  burning  May  sun. 

By  the  time  the  king  had  reached  the  palace  the  multitude, 
who  had  come  to  take  part  in  the  festival,  had  formed  them- 
selves into  a  procession  of  interminable  length,  which  wan- 
dered on  through  the  straight  streets  of  Babylon  toward  the 
royal  palace. 

Their  road  was  strewn  with  myrtle  and  palm  branches, 
roses,  poppy  and  oleander  blossoms,  and  with  leaves  of  the 
silver  poplar,  palm  and  laurel;  the  air  perfumed  with  incense, 
myrrh,  and  a  thousand  other  sweet  odors.  Carpets  and  flags 
waved  and  fluttered  from  the  houses. 

Music,  too,  was  there;  the  shrill  peal  of, the  Median  trum- 
pet, and  soft  tone  of  the  Phrygian  flute;  the  Jewish  cymbal 
and  harp,  Paphlagonian  tambourines  and  the  stringed  instru- 
ments of  Ionia;  Syrian  kettledrums  and  cymbals,  the  shells 
and  drums  of  the  Arians  from  the  mouth  of  the  Indus  and  the 
loud  notes  of  the  Bactrian  battle  trumpets.  But  above  all  these 
resounded  the  rejoicing  shouts  of  the  Babylonian  multitude, 
subjugated  by  the  Persians  only  a  few  short  years  before,  and 
yet,  like  all  Asiatics,  wearing  their  fetters  with  an  air  of  glad- 
ness so  long  as  the  fear  of  their  tyrant  was  before  their  eyes. 

The  fragrant  odors,  the  blaze  of  color  and  sparkling  of  gold 


204  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

and  jewels,  the  neighing  of  the  horses,  and ;  shouts  and  songs 
of  human  beings,  all  united  to  produce  a  whole  at  once  bewil- 
dering and  intoxicating  to  the  senses  and  the  feelings. 

The  messengers  had  not  been  sent  up  to  Babylon  empty- 
handed.  Beautiful  horses1,  huge  elephants  and  comical  mon- 
keys; rhinoceroses  and  buffaloes  adorned  with  housings  and 
tassels;  double-humped  Bactrian  camels  with  gold  collars  on 
their  shaggy  necks;  wagonloads  of  rare  woods  and  ivory, 
woven  goods  of  exquisite  texture,  casks  of  ingots  and  gold 
dust,  gold  and  silver  vessels,  rare  plants  for  the  royal  gardens, 
and  foreign  animals  for  the  preserves,  the  most  remarkable  of 
which  were  antelopes,  zebras  and  rare  monkeys  and  birds," 
these  last  being  tethered  to  a  tree  in  full  leaf  and  fluttering 
among  the  branches.  Such  were  the  offerings  sent  to  the 
great  king  of  Persia. 

They  were  the  tribute  of  the  conquered  nations,  and,  after 
having  been  shown  to  the  king,  were  weighed  and  tested  by 
treasurers  and  secretaries,  either  declared  satisfactory,  or  found 
wanting  and  returned,  in  which  case  the  niggardly  givers  were 
condemned  to  bring  a  double  tribute  later.f 

The  palace  gates  were  reached  without  hindrance,  the  way 
being  kept  clear  by  lines  of  soldiers  and  whip-bearers  stationed 
on  either  side  of  the  street. 

If  the  royal  progress  to  the  place  of  sacrifice,  when  five 
hundred  richly  caparisoned  horses  had  been  led  behind  the 
king's  charijt,$  could  be  called  magnificent  and  the  march  of 
the  envoys  a  brilliant  spectacle,  the  great  throne-room  pre- 
sented a  vision  of  dazzling  a.nd  magic  beauty. 

In  the  background,  raised  on  six  steps,  each  of  which  was 
guarded,  as  it  were,  by  two  golden  dogs,  stood  the  throne  of 
gold;  above  it,  supported  by  four  golden  pillars  studded  with 

*We  have  described  this  procession  from  reliefs,  for  our  acquaint- 
ance with  which  we  are  in  a  great  measure  indebted  to  Layard's 
excavations  and  an  obelisk  from  Nimrud  (Nineveh). 

tAt  the  time  of  which  we  are  writing  the  kings  of  Persia  taxed  their 
kingdom  at  whatever  time  and  to  whatever  extent  seemed  good  in 
their  own  eyes.  Cambyses'  successor,  Darius,  was  the  first  to  intro- 
duce a  regular  system  of  taxation,  in  consequence  of  which  he  was 
nicknamed  the  "shopkeeper."  Up  to  a  much  later  period  it  still  re- 
mained the  duty  of  certain  districts  to  send  natural  products  to  the 
court.  "Herod.,"  i,  192.  Xenoph.  "Anab.,"  iv,  5. 

.,"  vli,  40,  41,  54.  55,    Xenoph,  "Cyrop.,"  vjii,  3,    "Curtius. - 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  205 

precious  stones,  was  a  purple  canopy,  on  which  appeared  two 
winged  disks,  the  king's  feruer.* 

Fan-bearers,  high  in  office  at  the  court,  stood  behind  the 
throne,  and  on  either  side,  those  who  sat  at  the  king's  table, 
his  relations'  and  friends,  and  the  most  important  among  the 
officers  of  state,  the  priestly  caste  and  the  eunuchs. 

The  walls  and  ceilings  of  the  entire  hall  were  covered  with 
plates  of  burnished  gold  and  the  floor  with  purple  carpets. 

Before  the  silver  gates  lay  winged  bulls,  and  the  king's 
bodyguard — their  dress  consisting  of  a  gold  cuirass  under  a 
purple  overcoat,  and  the  high  Persian  cap,  their  swords  in 
golden  scabbards  glittering  with  jewels,  and  their  lances  orna- 
mented with  gold  and  silver  apples — were  stationed  in  the  court 
of  the  palace.  Among  them  the  band  of  the  "immortals"f 
was  easily  to  be  distinguished  by  their  stately  forms  and  daunt- 
less bearing. 

Officers,  whose  duty  consisted  in  announcing  and  present- 
ing strangers,  and  who  carried  short  ivory  staves,  led  the 
deputies  into  the  hall  and  up  to  the  throne,  where  they  cast 
themselves-  on  the  ground  as  though  they  would  kiss  the  earth, 
concealing  their  hands  in  the  sleeves  of  their  robes.  A  cloth 
was  bound  over  the  mouth  of  every  man  before  he  was  allowed 
to  answer  the  king's  questions,  lest  the  pure  person  of  the  king 
should  be  polluted  by  the  breath  of  common  men. 

Cambyses'  severity  or  mildness  toward  the  deputations*  with 
whose  chiefs  he  spoke  was  proportioned  to  the  obedience  of 


*The  feruer  or  ferwer  is  the  spiritual  part  of  every  man — his  soul 
and  reason.  It  was  in  existence  before  the  man  was  born,  joins  him 
at  his  birth  and  departs  at  his  death.  The  ferwer  keeps  up  a  war  with 
the  diws  or  evil  spirits,  and  is  the  element  of  man's  preservation  in 
life.  The  moment  he  departs  the  body  returns  to  its  original  elements. 
After  death  he  becomes  immortal  if  he  has  done  well,  but  if  his  deeds 
have  been  evil  he  is  cast  into  hell.  It  isi  right  to  call  upon  the  ferwer 
and  entreat  his  help.  He  will  bring  the  prayer  before  God,  and  on 
this  account  is  represented  as  a  winged  disk.  "Ulmai  Islam"  in  Vul- 
ler's  "Fragmente  u'ber  die  Religion  des  Zoroaster."  We  would  also 
direct  our  readers  especially  with  reference  to  the  Fravashis  (in 
"Farwardin  Yasht")  to  Tiele.  "De  Godsdienst  van  Zarathustra." 

fThese  "immortals"  owed  their  honorable  name  to  the  circumstance 
that  as  soon  as  one  of  their  number  fell  in  battle,  or  died,  his  place 
was  filled  by  a  substitute,  and  thus  the  total  number  of  the  band  never 
diminished — ten  thousand  warriors  were  always  there.  "Herod.,"  vii, 
40,  41,  84.  Xenoph.  "Cyrop.,"  vii,  1,  viii,  1,  2,  3.  "Curtius,"  iii,  3. 


206  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

their  province  and  the  munificence  of  their  tribute-offerings. 
Near  the  end  of  the  train  appeared  an  embassy  from  the  Jews 
led  by  two  grave  men  with  sharply  cut  features  and  long 
beards.  Cambyses  called  on  them  in  a  friendly  tone  to  stop. 

The  first  of  these  men  was  dressed  in  the  fashion  of  the 
Babylonian  aristocracy.  The  other  wore  a  purple  robe  woven 
without  seam,  trimmed  with  bells  and  tassels  and  held  in  at 
the  waist  by  a  girdle  of  blue,  red  and  white.*  A  blue  garment 
was  thrown  over  his  shoulders  and  a  little  bag  suspended 
around  his  neck  containing  the  sacred  lots,  the  urim  and 
thummin,  adorned  with  twelve  precious  stones  set  in  gold, 
and  bearing  the  names  of  the  tribes  of  Israel.  The  high- 
priest's  brow  was  grave  and  thoughtful.  A  white  cloth  wa3 
wound  around  his  head,  the  ends  of  which  living  down  to  the 
shoulders. 

"I  rejoice  to  behold  you  once  more,  Belteshazzar,"f  ex- 
claimed the  king  to  the  former  of  the  two  men.  "Since 
the  death  of  my  father  you  have  not  been  seen  at  my  gate." 

The  man  thus  addressed  bowed  humbly  and  answered:  "The 
favor  of  the  king  rejoices  the  servant!  If  it  seems1  good  unto 
thee  to  cause  the  sun  of  thy  favor  to  shine  on  me,  thine  un- 
worthy servant,  so  hearken  unto  my  petition  for  my  nation 
which  thy  great  father  caused  to  return  unto  the  land  of  their 
fathers'  sepulchers.  This  old  man  at  my  side,  Joshua,  the 
high-priest  of  our  God,  hath  not  feared  the  long  journey  to 
Babylon,  that  he  might  bring  his  request  before  thy  face.  Let 
his  speech  be  pleasing  in  thine  ears  and  his  words  bring  forth 
fruit  in  thine  heart." 

"I  foresee  what  ye  desire  of  me,"  cried  the  king.     "Am  I 

*Ewald,  "Alterthumer  des  Volkes  Israel,"  pp.  289,  305,  333.  Weiss, 
"Kostiimkunde,"  i,  p.  344.  Winer,  "Bibl.  Realworterbuch,  3  Aufl." 
Kitto's  "The  Tabernacle  and  Furniture,"  pi.  iii. 

tin  our  first  edition  we  brought  Daniel  himself  before  our  readers 
in  the  person  of  the  Israelite  who  accompanies  Joshua;  but  the  later 
researches  made  by  Hitzig,  Lengerke,  Merx  and  Kuenen  have  ren- 
dered this  inadmissible.  A  rich  and  distinguished  Jew,  however,  from 
among  those  who  had  remained  behind  in  Babylon  after  the  captivity 
can  be  introduced  without  further  remarks;  and  at  the  same  time  we 
would  mention  that  the  writing  in  Cyrus'  hand,  which  induced  Darius 
later  to  allow  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple,  is  historically  authentic. 
"Ezra,"  vi,  2-12.  "Zachariah,"  1-8.  At  the  time  of  our  tale  Joshua 
was  high-priest.  Bunsen,  "Bibelwerk,"  p.  324. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  207 

wrong,  priest,  in  supposing  that  your  petition  refers  to  the 
building  of  the  temple  in  your  native  land?" 

"Nothing  can  be  hidden  from  the  eyes  of  my  lord,"  an- 
swered the  priest,  bowing  low.  "Thy  servants  in  Jerusalem 
desire  to  behold  the  face  of  their  ruler,  and  beseech  thee  by 
my  mouth  to  visit  the  land  of  their  fathers  and  to  grant  them 
permission  to  s-et  forward  the  work  of  the  temple,  concerning 
which  thine  illustrious  father  (the  favor  of  our  God  rest  upon 
him)  made  a  decree." 

The  king  answered,  with  a  smile:  "You  have  the  craft  of 
your  nation  and  understand  how  to  choose  the  right  time  and 
words  for  your  petition.  On  my  birthday  it  is  difficult  for  me 
to  refuse  my  faithful  people  even  one  request.  I  promise 
you,  therefore,  so  soon  as  possible  to  visit  Jerusalem  and  the 
land  of  your  fathers." 

"By  so  doing  thou  wilt  make  glad  the  hearts  of  thy  servants," 
answered  the  priest;  "our  vines  and  olives  will  bear  more 
fruit  at  thine  approach,  our  gates  will  lift  up  their  heads  to 
receive  thee,  and  Israel  rejoice  with  shouts  to  meet  his  lord, 
doubly  blessed  if  as  lord  of  the  building " 

"Enough,  priest,  enough!''  cried  Cambyses.  "Your  first 
petition,  I  have  said  it,  shall  not  remain  unfulfilled;  for  I  have 
long  desired  to  visit  the  wealthy  city  of  Tyre,  the  golden 
Zidon,  and  Jerusalem  with  its  strange  superstitions;  but  were 
I  to  give  permission  for  the  building  now  what  would  remain 
for  me  to  grant  you  in  the  coming  year?" 

"Thy  servants  will  no  more  molest  thee  by  their  petitions 
if  thou  grant  unto  them  this  one  to  finish  the  temple  of  the 
Lord  their  God,"  answered  the  priest. 

"Strange  beings,  these  men  of  Palestine!"  exclaimed  Cam- 
byses. "I  have  heard  it  said  that  ye  believe  in  one  God  alone, 
who  can  be  represented  by  no  likeness  and  is  a  spirit.  Think 
ye,  then,  that  this  omnipresent  Being  requires  a  house !  Verily, 
your  great  spirit  can  be  but  a  weak  and  miserable  creature  if 
He  need  a  covering  from  the  wind  and  rain  and  a  shelter  from 
the  heat  which  He  himself  has  created.  If  your  God  be  like 
ours,  omnipresent,  fall  down  before  Him  and  worship  as  we 
do  in  every  place  and  feel  certain  that  everywhere  ye  will  be 
heard  of  Him." 

"The  God  of  Israel  hears  His  people  in  every  place,"  ex- 
claimed the  high-priest.  "He  heard  us  when  we  pined  in 


208  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

captivity  under  the  Pharaohs  far  from  our  land;  He  heard 
us  weeping  by  the  rivers  of  Babylon.  He  chose  thy  father 
to  be  the  instrument  of  our  deliverance  and  will  hear  my  prayer 
this  day  and  soften  thine  heart  likewis-e.  Oh,  mighty  king, 
grant  unto  thy  servants  a  common  place  of  sacrifice  whither 
our  twelve  tribes  may  repair,  an  altar  on  the  steps  of  which 
they  can  pray  together,  a  house  in  which  to  keep  their  holy 
feasts.  For  this  permission  we  will  call  down  the  blessing  of 
God  upon  thine  head  and  His  curse  upon  thine  enemies." 

"Grant  unto  my  brethren  the  permission  to  build  their 
temple,"  added  Belteshazzar,  who  was  the  richest  and  most 
honorable  and  respected  of  the  Jews  yet  remaining  in  Babylon, 
a  man  whom  Cyrus  had  treated  with  much  consideration  and 
of  whom  he  had  even  taken  counsel  from  time  to  time. 

"Will  ye  then  be  peaceable  if  I  grant  your  petition?"  asked 
the  king.  "My  father  allowed  you  to  begin  the  work  and 
granted  the  means  for  its  completion.  Of  one. mind,  happy 
and  content,  ye  returned  to  your  native  land,  but  while  pur- 
suing your  work  strife  and  contention  entered  among  you. 
Cyrus  was  assailed  by  repeated  letters,  signed  by  the  chief 
men  of  Syria,  entreating  him  to  forbid  the  work,  and  I  also 
have  been  lately  besought  to  do  the  same.  Worship  your 
God  when  and  where  ye  will,  but  just  because  I  desire  your 
welfare  I  cannot  consent  to  the  prosecution  of  a  work  which 
kindles  discord  among  you." 

"And  is  it,  then,  thy  pleasure  on  this  day  to  take  back  a 
favor  which  thy  father  made  sure  unto  us  by  a  written  decree?" 
asked  Belteshazzar. 

"A  written  decree?" 

"Which  will  surely  be  found  even  to  this  day  laid  up  in  the 
archives  of  thy  kingdom." 

"Find  this  decree  and  show  it  to  me  and  I  will  not  only 
allow  the  building  to  be  continued,  but  will  promote  the  same," 
answered  the  king;  "for  my  father's  will  is1  as  sacred  to  me  as 
the  commands  of  the  gods." 

"Wilt  thou  allow  s-earch  to  be  made  in  the  house  of  the  rolls 
at  Ekbatana?"  asked  Belteshazzar.  "The  decree  will  surely 
be  found  there." 

"I  consent,  but  I  fear  ye  will  find  none.  Tell  thy  nation, 
priest,  that  I  am  content  with  the  equipment  of  the  men  of 
war  they  have  sent  to  take  the  field  against  the  Massagetae. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  20S 

My  general,  Megabyzus,  commends  their  looks  and  bearing. 
May  the  people  prove  as  valiant  now  as  in  the  wars  of  my 
father!  You,  Belteshazzar,  I  bid  to  my  marriage  feast,  and 
charge  you  to  tell  your  fellows,  Meshach  and  Abed-nego,* 
next  unto  you  the  highest  in  the  city  of  Babylon,  that  I  expect 
them  this  evening  at  my  table." 

"The  God  of  my  people  Israel  grant  thee  blessing  and  hap- 
piness," answered  Belteshazzar,  bowing  before  the  king. 

"A  wish  which  I  accept!"  answered  the  king,  "for  I  do  not 
despise  the  power  of  your  wonder-working  great  spirit.  But 
one  word  more,  Belteshazzar.  Many  Jews  have  lately  been 
punished  for  reviling  the  gods  of  the  Babylonians.  Warn 
your  people!  They  bring  down  hatred  on  themselves  by 
their  stiff-necked  superstition,!  and  the  pride  with  which  they 
declare  their  own  great  spirit  to  be  the  only  true  God.  Take 
example  by  us;  we  are  content  with  our  own  faith  and  leave 
others  to  enjoy  theirs  in  peace.  Cease  to  look  upon  yourselves 
as  better  than  the  rest  of  the  world.  I  wish  you  well,  for  pride 
founded  on  self-respect  is  pleasing  in  mine  eyes;  but  take  heed 
lest  pride  degenerate  into  vain  glory.  Farewell!  rest  assured 
of  my  favor." 

The  Jews  then  departed.  They  were  disappointed,  but  not 
hopeless;  for  Belteshazzar  knew  well  that  the  decree,  relative 
to  the  building  of  the  temple,  must  be  in  the  archives  at 
Ekbatana. 

They  were  followed  by  a  deputation  from  Syria,  and  by 
tb.e  Greeks  of  Ionia;  and  then,  winding  up  the  long  train,  ap- 
peared a  band  of  wild-looking  men,  dressed  in  the  skins  of 
animals,  whose  features  bespoke  them  foreigners1  in  Babylon. 
They  wore  girdles  and  shoulder-bands  of  solid,  unwrought 
gold;  and  of  the  same  precious  metal  were  their  bow-cases, 
axes,  lance-points,  and  the  ornaments  on  their  high  fur  caps. 
They  were  preceded  by  a  man  in  Persian  dress,  whose  features 
proved  him,  however,  to  be  of  the  same  race  as  his  followers.^ 

*We  have  retained  the  names  Meshach  and  Abed-nego,  as  it  seemed 
to  us  that  none  more  suitable  could  be  found  for  distinguished  Jews 
living  in  Babylon  than  those  given  in  the  Bible  to  Daniel's  compan- 
ions. 

fTacitus  ("Histor.,"  v,  2-5)  speaks  still  more  severely,  even  harshly 
and  bitterly,  of  the  Jewish  religion,  especially  of  its  intolerance. 

f'Herod.,"  i,  215.  We  give  this  episode  partly  from  "Herod.,"  i, 
204-216,  partly  from  "Diod.,"  ii,  44,  and  "Justin,"  i,  8.  Ktesias,  "Per- 


210  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

The  king  gazed  at  first  on  these  envoys  with  wonder;  then 
his  brow  darkened,  and,  beckoning  the  officer  whose  duty  it 
was  to  present  strangers,  he  exclaimed:  "What  can  these  men 
have  to  crave  of  me?  If  I  mistake  not  they  belong  to  the 
Massagetae,  to  that  people  who  are  so  soon  to  tremble  before 
my  vengeance.  Tell  them,  Gobryas,  that  an  armed  host  is 
standing  on  the  Median  plains  ready  to  answer  their  demands 
with  the  sword." 

Gobryas  answered,  bowing  low:  "These  men  arrived  this 
morning  during  the  sacrifice,  bringing  huge  burdens  of  the 
purest  gold  to  purchase  your  forbearance.  When  they  heard 
that  a  great  festival  was-  being  celebrated  in  your  honor,  they 
urgently  besought  to  be  admitted  into  your  presence,  that 
they  might  declare  the  message  intrusted  to  them  by  their 
country/' 

The  king's  brow  cleared,  and  after  sharply  scrutinizing  the 
tall,  bearded  Massagetae,  he  said:  "Let  them  come  nearer. 
I  am  curious  to  know  what  proposals  my  father's  murderers 
are  about  to  make  me." 

Gobryas  made  a  sign,  and  the  tallest  and  eldest  of  the 
Massagetae  came  up  close  to  the  throne  and  began  to  speak 
loudly  in  his  native  tongue.  He  was  accompanied  by  the  man 
in  a  Persian  dress,  who,  as  one  of  Cyrus'  prisoners  of  war,  had 
learned  the  Persian  language,  and  now  interpreted  one  by  one 
the  sentences  uttered  by  the  spokesman  of  this  wandering  tribe. 

"We  know,"  began  the  latter,  "that  thou,  great  king,  art 
wroth  with  the  Massagetae  because  thy  father  fell  in  war  with 
our  tribe — a  war  which  he  alone  had  provoked  with  a  people 
who  had  done  naught  to  offend  him." 

"My  father  was  justified  in  punishing  your  nation,"  in- 
terrupted the  king.  "Your  queen,  Tomyris,  had  dared  to 
refuse  him  her  hand  in  marriage." 

"Be  not  wroth,  O  king,"  answered  the  Massagetan,  "when 
I  tell  thee  that  our  entire  nation  approved  of  that  act.  Even 
a  child  could  see  that  the  great  Cyrus  only  desired  to  add  our 


sica,"  9,  tells  that  Cyrus  was  wounded  by  an  Indian  during  a  battle 
with  the  Derbians,  and  died  from  the  effects  of  the  wound.  In  Xeno- 
phon's  account  he  returns  home  peacefully,  but  this  is  probably  only 
because  it  gives  such  a  good  opportunity  of  putting  a  beautiful  dying 
speech  into  his  mouth. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  211 

queen  to  the  number  of  his  wives,  hoping,  in  his  insatiable 
thirst  for  more  territories,  to  gain  our  land  with  her." 

Cambyses  was  silent,  and  the  envoy  went  on. 
'Cyrus  caused  a  bridge  to  be  made  over  our  boundary 
river,  Araxes.*  We  were  not  dismayed  at  this,  and  Tomyris 
sent  word  that  he  might  save  himself  this  trouble,  for  the 
Massagetae  were  willing  either  to  await  him  quietly  in  their 
own  land,  leaving  the  passage  of  the  river  free,  or  to  meet 
him  in  his.  Cyrus  decided,  by  the  advice  of  the  dethroned 
king  of  Lydia  (as  we  learned  afterward,  through  some  pris- 
oners of  war),  on  meeting  us  in  our  own  land  and  defeating 
us  by  a  stratagem.  With  this  intention  he  sent  at  first  only 
a  small  body  of  troops,  which  could  be  easily  dispersed  and 
destroyed  by  our  arrows  and  lances,  and  allowed  us  to  seize 
his  camp  without  striking  a  blow.  Believing  that  we  had 
defeated  this  insatiable  conqueror,  we  feasted  on  his  abundant, 
stores,  and,  poisoned  by  the  sweet,  unknown  drink  which  you 
call  wine,  fell  into  a  stupefied  slumber,  during  which  his 
soldiers  fell  upon  us,  murdered  the  greater  number  of  our 
warriors  and  took  many  captives.  Among  the  latter  was  the 
brave  young  Spargapises,  our  queen's  son. 

"Hearing  in  his  captivity  that  his  mother  was  willing  to 
conclude  peace  with  your  nation  as  the  price  of  his  liberty,  he 
asked  to  have  his  chains  taken  off.  The  request  was  granted, 
and  obtaining  the  use  of  his  hands  he  seized  a  sword  and 
stabbed  himself,  exclaiming:  'I  sacrifice  my  life  for  the  free- 
dom of  my  nation!' 

"No  sooner  did  we  hear  the  news  that  the  young  prince  we 
loved  so  well  had  died  thus  than  we  assembled  all  the  forces 
yet  left  us-  from  your  swords  and  fetters.  Even  old  men  and 
boys  flew  to  arms  to  revenge  our  noble  Spargapises,  and 
sacrifice  themselves,  after  his  example,  for  Massagetan  free- 
dom. Our  armies  met;  ye  were  worsted  and  Cyrus  fell. 
When  Tomyris  found  his  body  lying  in  a  pool  of  human  blood, 
she  cried:  'Methinks,  insatiable  conqueror,  thou  art,  at  last, 
sated  with  blood!'  The  troop,  composed  of  the  flower  of  your 
nobility,  which  you  call  the  immortals,  drove  us  back  and 
carried  your  father's  dead  body  forth  from  our  closest  ranks. 

*The  Araxes  (Aras)  rises  in  the  highlands  of  Armenia  and  flows  into 
the  Caspian  Sea. 


212  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

You  led  them  on,  fighting  like  a  lion.  I  know  yon  well,  and 
that  wound  across  your  manly  face,  which  adorns  it  like  a 
purple  badge  of  honor,  was  made  by  the  sword  now  hanging 
at  my  side." 

A  movement  pass-ed  through  the  listening  crowd;  they 
trembled  for  the  bold  speaker's  life.  Cambyses,  however, 
looked  pleased,  nodded  approvingly  to  the  man  and  answered: 
"Yes,  I  recognize  you  too  now;  you  rode  a  red  horse  with 
golden  trappings.  You  shall  see  that  the  Persians  know  how 
to  honor  courage.  Bow  down  before  this  man,  my  friends, 
for  never  did  I  see  a  sharper  sword  nor  a  more  unwearied 
arm  than  his;  and  such  heroic  courage  deserves  honor  from 
the  brave,  whether  shown  by  friend  or  foe.*  As  for  you, 
Massagetae,  I  would  advise  you  to  go  home  quickly  and  pre- 
pare for  war;  the  mere  recollection  of  your  strength  and 
courage  increases  my  longing  to  test  it  once  more.  A  brave 
foe,  by  Mithras',  is  far  better  than  a  feeble  friend.  You  shall 
be  allowed  to  return  home  in  peace ;  but  beware  of  remaining 
too  long-  within  my  reach,  lest  the  thought  of  the  vengeance 
I  owe  my  father's  soul  should  rouse  my  anger  and  your  end 
draw  suddenly  nigh." 

A  bitter  smile  played  round  the  bearded  mouth  of  the  war- 
rior as  he  made  answer  to  this  speech.  "The  Massagetae 
deem  your  father's  soul  too  well  avenged  already.  The  only 
son  of  our  queen,  his1  people's  pride,  and  in  no  way  inferior 
to  Cyrus,  has  bled  for  him.  The  shores  of  the  Araxes  have 
been  fertilized  by  the  bodies  of  fifty  thousand  of  my  country- 
men, slain  as  offerings  for  your  dead  king,  while  only  thirty 
thousand  fell  there  on  your  own  side.  We  fought  as  bravely 

This  speech  corresponds  with  the  Persian  character.  In  "Herodo- 
tus" (vii,  231)  Xerxes  is  made  to  act  on  opposite  principles,  but  the 
following  epigram  by  Antiphilos  of  Byzantium  (translated  by  G.  Bur- 
ges,  M.  A.  Trin.  Coll.  Cambridge)  is  a  proof  that  the  Greeks  fully  ac- 
knowledged the  chivalrous  feeling  of  the  Persian  nation: 
A.  This  purple  robe,  Leonidas,  to  thee 

Has  Xerxes  given;  for  thy  deeds  in  arms 
Have  won  his  admiration. 
L-  Not  for  me 

Be  this  the  gift.   A  traitor's  limbs  it  warms 
Better;  and  I  reject  it.    In  death's  sleep 

My  shield  throw  o'er  me,  not  a  garb  of  gold. 
A.       Why  'midst  the  dead  thy  hate  'gainst  Persians  keep? 
L.  The  love  of  freedom  not  in  death  is  cold. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  213 

as  you,  but  your  armor  is  better  able  to  resist  the  arrows 
which  pierce  our  clothing  of  skins.  And  lastly,  as  the  most 
cruel  blow  of  all,  ye  slew  our  queen." 

"Tomyris  is  dead?"  exclaimed  Cambyses,  interrupting  him. 
"You  mean  to  tell  me  that  the  Persians  have  killed  a  woman? 
Answer  at  once,  what  has  happened  to  your  queen?" 

"Tomyris  died  ten  months  ago  of  grief  for  the  loss  of  her 
only  son,  and  I  have,  therefore,  a  right  to  say  that  she,  too, 
fell  a  sacrifice  to  the  war  with  Persia  and  to  your  father's 
spirit." 

"She  was  a  great  woman,"  murmured  Cambyses,  his  voice 
unsteady  from  emotion.  "Verily,  I  begin  to  think  that  the 
gods  themselves  have  undertaken  to  revenge  my  father's  blood 
on  your  nation.  Yet  I  tell  you  that,  heavj  as  your  losses 
may  seem,  Spargapises,  Tomyris  and  fifty  thousand  Mas- 
sagetae  can  never  outweigh  the  spirh  of  one  king  of  Persia, 
and  least  of  all  of  a  Cyrus." 

"In  our  country,"  answered  the  envoy,  "death  makes  all 
men  equal.  The  spirits  of  the  king  and  the  slave  are  of  equal 
worth.  Your  father  was  a  great  man,  but  we  have  undergone 
awful  sufferings  for  his  sake.  My  tale  is  not  yet  ended.  After 
the  death  of  Tomyris  discord  broke  out  among  the  Massagetae. 
Two  claimants  for  the  crown  appeared ;  half  our  nation  fought 
for  the  one,  half  for  the  other,  and  our  hosts-  were  thinned, 
first  by  this  fearful  civil  war  and  then  by  the  pestilence  which 
followed  in  its  track.  We  can  no  longer  resist  your  power, 
and  therefore  come  with  heavy  loads  of  pure  gold  as  the  price 
of  peace." 

"Ye  submit  then,  without  striking  a  blow?"  asked  Cam- 
byses. "Verily,  I  had  expected  something  else  from  such 
heroes;  the  numbers  of  my  host,  which  waits  assembled  on 
the  plains  of  Media,  will  prove  that.  We  cannot  go  to  battle 
without  an  enemy.  I  will  dismiss  my  troops  and  send  a 
satrap.  Be  welcome  as  new  subjects  of  my  realm." 

The  red  blood  mounted  into  the  cheeks  of  the  Massagetan 
warrior  on  hearing  these  words,  and  he  answered  in  a  voice 
trembling  with  excitement:  "You  err,  O  king,  if  you  imagine 
that  we  have  lost  our  own  courage  or  learned  to  long  for 
slavery.  But  we  know  your  strength;  we  know  that  the  small 
remnant  of  our  nation  which  war  and  pestilence  have  spared 
cannot  resist  your  vast  and  well-armed  hosts.  This  we  admit. 


214  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

freely  and  honestly,  as  is  the  manner  of  the  Massagetae,  de- 
claring, however,  at  the  same  time,  that  we  are  determined  to 
govern  ourselves  as  of  yore,  and  will  never  receive  laws  or 
ordinances  from  a  Persian  satrap.  You  are  wroth,  but  I  can 
bear  your  angry  gaze  and  yet  repeat  my  declaration." 

"And  my  answer,"  cried  Cambyses,  "is  this:  Ye  have  but 
one  choice;  either  to  submit  to  my  scepter,  become  united  to 
the  kingdom  of  Persia,  under  the  name  of  the  Massagetan 
province,  and  receive  a  satrap  as  my  representative  with  due 
reverence,  or  to  look  upon  yourselves  as  my  enemies,  in  which 
case  you  will  be  forced  by  arms  to  conform  to  those  conditions 
which  I  now  offer  you  in  good  part.  To-day  you  could  secure 
a  ruler  well-affected  to  your  cause — later  you  will  find  in  me 
only  a  conqueror  and  avenger.  Consider  well  before  you 
answer." 

"We  have  already  weighed  and  considered  all,"  answered 
the  warrior,  "and,  as  free  sons  of  the  desert,  prefer  death  to 
bondage.  Hear  what  the  council  of  our  old  men  has  sent  me  to 
declare  to  you:  The  Massagetae  have  become  too  weak  to 
oppose  the  Persians,  not  through  their  own  fault,  but  through 
the  heavy  visitation  of  our  god,  the  sun.  We  know  that  you 
have  armed  a  vast  host  against  us,  and  we  are  ready  to  buy 
peace  and  liberty  by  a  yearly  tribute.  But,  if  you  persist  in 
compelling  us  to  submit  by  force  of  arms,  you  can  only  bring 
great  damage  on  yourselves.  The  moment  your  army  nears 
the  Araxes  we  shall  depart  with  our  wives  and  children  and 
seek  another  home,  for  we  have  no  fixed  dwellings  like  yours, 
but  are  accustomed  to  rove  at  will  on  our  swift  horses,  and  to 
rest  in  tents.  Our  gold  we  shall  take  with  us,  and  shall  fill  up, 
destroy  and  conceal  the  pits  in  which  you  could  find  new 
treasures.  We  know  every  spot  where  gold  is  to  be  found, 
and  can  give  it  in  abundance  if  you  grant  us  peace  and  leave 
us  our  liberty;  but,  if  you  venture  to  invade  our  territory, 
you  win  nothing  but  an  empty  desert  and  an  enemy  always 
beyond  your  reach — an  enemy  who  may  become  formidable 
when  he  has  had  time  to  recover  from  the  heavy  losses  which 
have  thinned  his-  ranks.  Leave  us  in  peace  and  freedom  and 
we  are  ready  to  give  every  year  five  thousand  swift  horses  of 
the  desert,  besides  the  yearly  tribute  of  gold;  we  will  also  come 
to  the  help  of  the  Persian  nation  when  threatened  by  any 
serious  danger." 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  215 

The  envoy  ceased  speaking.  Cambyses  did  not  answer  at 
once;  his  eyes  were  fixed  on  the  ground  in  deep  thought. 
At  last  he  said,  rising  at  the  same  time  from  his  throne:  "We 
will  take  counsel  on  this  matter  over  the  wine  to-night,  and 
to-morrow  you  shall  hear  what  answer  you  can  bring  to  your 
people.  Gobryas,  see  that  these  men  are  well  cared  for,  and 
send  the  Massagetan  who  wounded  me  in  battle  a  portion  of 
the  best  dishes  from  my  own  table." 


CHAPTER   XV. 


During  these  events  Nitetis  had  been  sitting  alone  in  her 
house  on  the  hanging-gardens,  absorbed  in  the  saddest 
thoughts.  To-day  for  the  first  time  she  had  taken  part  in  the 
general  sacrifice  made  by  the  king's  wives,  and  had  tried  to 
pray  to  her  new  gods  in  the  open  air  before  the  fire-altars 
and  amid  the  sound  of  religious  songs  strange  to  her  ears. 

Most  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  harem  saw  her  to-day  for  the 
first  time,  an  1  instead  of  raising  their  eyes  to  heaven  had  fixed 
them  on  her  during  the  ceremony. 

The  inquisitive,  malevolent  gaze  of  her  rivals,  and  the  loud 
music  resounding  from  the  city,  disquieted  and  distracted  her 
mind.  Her  thoughts  reverted  painfully  to  the  solemn,  sultry 
stillness  of  the  gigantic  temples  in  her  native  land,  where  she 
had  worshiped  the  gods  of  her  childhood  so  earnestly  at  the 
side  of  her  mother  and  sister;  and  much  as  she  longed,  just 
on  this  day,  to  pray  for  blessings  on  her  beloved  king,  all  her 
efforts  were  in  vain;  she  could  arouse  no  devotional  feeling. 

Kassandane  and  Atossa  knelt  at  her  side,  joining  heartily 
in  the  very  hymns  which  to  Nitetis  were  an  empty  sound. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  many  parts  of  these  hymns  con- 
tain true  poetry ;  but  they  become  wearisome  through  the  con- 
stant repetition  and  invocation  of  the  names  of  good  and  bad 
spirits.  The  Persian  women  had  been  taught  from  childhood 
to  look  upon  these  religious  songs  as  higher  and  holier  than 
any  other  poetry.  Their  earliest  prayers  had  been  accom- 


216  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

panied  by  such  hymns,  and,  like  everything  else  which  has 
come  down  to  us  from  our  fathers,  and  which  we  have  been 
told  in  the  impressionable  time  of  childhood  is  divine  and 
worthy  of  our  reverence,  they  were  still  sacred  and  dear  to 
them  and  stirred  their  most  devotional  feelings. 

But  for  Nitetis,  who  had  been  spoiled,  for  such  things  by  an 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  best  Greek  poets,  they  could 
have  but  little  charm.  What  she  had  lately  been  learning 
in  Persia  with  difficulty  had  not  yet  become  a  part  of  herself, 
and  so,  while  Kassandane  and  Atossa  went  through  all  the 
outward  rites  as  things  of  course  and  perfectly  natural  to  them, 
Nitetis  could  only  prevent  herself  from  forgetting  the  pre- 
scribed ceremonials  by  a  great  mental  effort,  and  dreaded 
lest  she  should  expose  her  ignorance  to  the  jealous,  watchful 
gaze  of  her  rivals-. 

And  then,  too,  only  a  few  minutes  before  the  sacrifice,  she 
had  received  her  first  letter  from  Egypt.  It  lay  unread  on 
her  dressing-table  and  came  into  her  mind  whenever  she  at- 
tempted to  pray.  She  could  not  help  wondering  what  news 
it  might  bring  her.  How  were  her  parents,  and  how  had 
Tachot  borne  the  parting  from  herself  and  from  the  prince 
she  loved  so  well? 

The  ceremony  over,  Nitetis  embraced  Kassandane  and 
Atossa  and  drew  a  long,  deep  breath,  as  if  delivered  from  some 
threatening  danger.  Then  ordering  her  litter  she  was  carried 
back  to  her  dwelling  and  hastened  eagerly  to  the  table  where 
her  letter  lay.  Her  principal  attendant,  the  young  girl  who  on 
the  journey  had  dressed  her  in  her  first  Persian  robes,  received 
her  with  a  smile  full  of  meaning  and  promise,  which  changed, 
however,  into  a  look  of  astonishment  on  seeing  her  mistress 
seize  the  letter  without  even  glancing  at  the  articles  and 
jewelry  which  lay  on  the  table. 

Nitetis  broke  the  seal  quickly  and  was  sitting  down  in  order 
to  begin  the  difficult  work  of  reading  her  letter  when  the  girl 
came  up  with  clasped  hands  exclaimed:  "By  Mithras,  my 
mistress,  I  cannot  understand  you.  Either  you  are  ill  or 
that  ugly  bit  of  gray  stuff  must  contain  some  magic  which 
makes  you  blind  to  everything  else.  Put  that  roll  away  and 
look  at  the  splendid  presents  that  the  great  king  (Auramazda, 
grant  him  victory)  has  sent  while  you  were  at  the  sacrifice. 
Look  at  this  wonderful  purple  robe  with  the  white  stripe  and 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  217 

the  rich  silver  embroidery;  and  then  the  tiara  with  the  royal 
diamonds!  Do  not  you  know  the  high  meaning  of  these 
gifts?  Cambyses  begs  (the  messenger  said  'begs,'  not  'com- 
mands') you  to  wear  thes-e  splendid  ornaments  at  the  banquet 
to-day.  How  angry  Phaedime  will  be!  and  how  the  others 
will  look,  for  they  have  never  received  such  presents.  Till 
now  only  Kassandane  has  had  a  right  to  wear  the  purple  and 
diamonds;  so,  by  sending  you  these  gifts,  Cambyses  places 
you  on  a  level  with  his  mother  and  chooses  you  to  be  his1 
favorite  wife  before  the  whole  world.*  Oh,  pray  allow  me 
to  dress  you  in  these  new  and  beautiful  things!  How  lovely 
you  will  look!  How  angry  and  envious  the  others  will  feel! 
If  I  could  only  be  there  when  you  enter  the  hall!  Come,  my 
mistress,  let  me  take  off  your  simple  dress  and  array  you  (only 
•is  a  trial,  you  know)  in  the  robes  that  as  the  new  queen  you 
ought  to  wear." 

Nitetis  listened  in  silence  to  the  chattering  girl  and  admired 
the  gifts  with  a  quiet  smile.  She  was  woman  enough  to  re- 
joice at  the  sight,  for  he  had  sent  them  whom  she  loved  better 
than  life  itself;  and  they  were  a  pi  oof  that  she  was  more  to 
the  king  than  all  his  other  wives — that  Cambyses  really  loved 
her.  The  long-wish ed-for  letter  fell  unread  to  the  ground,  the 
girl's  wish  to  dress*  her  was  granted  without  a  word,  and  in  a 
short  time  the  splendid  toilet  was  completed.  The  royal 
purple  added  to  her  beauty,  the  high,  flashing  tiara  made  her 
slender,  perfect  figure  seem  taller  than  it  really  was,  and  when, 
in  the  metal  mirror  which  lay  on  her  dressing-table,  she  beheld 
herself  for  the  first  time  in  the  glorious  likeness  of  a  queen  a 
new  expression  dawned  on  her  features.  It  seemed  as  if  a 
portion  of  her  lord's  pride  were  reflected  there.  The  frivolous 
waiting-woman  sank  involuntarily  on  her  knees  as  her  eyes, 
full  of  smiling  admiration,  met  the  radiant  glance  of  Nitetis — 
of  the  woman  who  was  beloved  by  the  most  powerful  of  men. 

For  a  few  moments  Nitetis  gazed  on  the  girl,  lying  in  the 
dust  at  her  feet:  but  soon  shook  her  beautiful  head,  and  blush- 
ing for  shame,  raised  her  kindly,  kissed  her  forehead,  gave 
her  a  gold  bracelet,  and  then,  perceiving  her  letter  on  the 
ground,  told  her  she  wished  to  be  alone.  Mandane  ran,  rather 

*"Book  of  Esther,"  i,  11,  19,  ii,  4,  17,  vf  1,  Heliodorus  of  Emesa, 
"Aethiopica"vii,  19, 


218  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

than  walked,  out  of  the  room  in  her  eagerness  to  show  the 
splendid  present  she  had  just  received  to  the  inferior  attendants 
and  slaves;  and  Nitetis,  her  eyes  glistening  and  her  heart  beat- 
ing with  excess  of  happiness,  threw  herself  onto  the  ivory  chair 
which  stood  before  her  dressing-table,  uttered  a  short  prayer 
of  thanksgiving  to  her  favorite  Egyptian  goddess,  the  beau- 
tiful Hathor,  kissed  the  gold  chain  which  Cambyses  had  given 
her  after  plunging  into  the  water  for  her  ball,  then  her  letter 
from  home,  and  rendered  almost  overconfident  by  her  great 
happiness,  began  to  unroll  it,  slowly  sinking  back  into  the 
purple  cushions  as  she  did  so  and  murmuring:  "How  very, 
very  happy  I  am.  Poor  letter,  I  am  sure  your  writer  never 
thought  Nitetis  would  leave- you  a  quarter  of  an  hour  on  the 
ground  unread." 

In  this  happy  mood  she  began  to  read,  but  her  face  soon 
grew  serious  and  when  she  had  finished  the  letter  fell  once 
more  to  the  ground. 

Her  eyes,  whose  proud  glance  had  brought  the  waiting-maid 
to  her  feet,  were  dimmed  by  tears;  her  head,  carried  so  proudly 
but  a  few  minutes  before,  now  lay  on  the  jewels  which  covered 
the  table.  Tears  rolled  down  among  the  pearls  and  diamonds, 
as  strange  a  contrast  as  the  proud  tiara  and  its  unhappy,  faint- 
ing wearer. 

The  letter  read  as  follows: 

"Ladice  the  wife  of  Amasis  and  queen  of  upper  and  lower 
Egypt,  to  her  daughter  Nitetis,  consort  of  the  great  king  of 
Persia. 

"It  has  not  been  our  fault,  my  beloved  daughter,  that  you 
have  remained  so  long  without  news  from  home.  The  trireme 
by  which  we  sent  our  letters  for  you  to  Aegae  was  detained 
by  Samian  ships  of  war,  or  rather  pirate  vessels,  and  towed 
into  the  harbor  of  Astypalaea.* 

"Polykrates'  presumption  increases  with  the  continual  suc- 


*Aegae,  a  seaport  town  in  Mysia.  The  Astypalaea  mentioned  here 
must  not  be  confounded  with  the  island  of  the  same  name  on  which 
Dorian  colonists  built  the  town  Akragas,  "the  most  beautiful  town 
ever  built  by  mortals."  Pindar,  "Pyth.,"  12, 1.  The  castle  built  on  the 
Island  of  Samos  by  Polykrates  and  fortified  with  round  towers  was 
also  called  Astypalaea.  Its  walls  were  twelve  feet  thick,  and  it  was  gar- 
risoned by  the  tyrant's  Scythian  bodyguard.  "Polyaenus,"  i,  23.  E. 
Curtius,  "Geschichte  von  Griechenland,"  p.  312, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  219 

cess  of  his  undertakings,  and  since  his  victory  over  the  Les- 
bians and  Milesians,*  who  endeavored  to  put  a  stop  to  his 
depredations,  not  a  ship  is  safe  from  the  attacks  of  his  pirate 
vessels. 

"Pisistratus  is  dead,f  but  his  sons  are  friendly  to  Polykrates. 
Lygdamis-  is  under  obligations  to  him,  and  cannot  hold  his 
own  in  Naxos  without  Samian  help.  He  has  won  over  the 
Amphiktyonic  council  to  his  side  by  presenting  the  Apollo  of 
Delos  with  the  neighboring  island  of  Rhen  2a.|  His  fifty- 
oared  vessels,  requiring  to  be  manned  by  twent)  thousand  men, 
do  immense  damage  to  all  the  seafaring  nations;  yet  not  one 
dares  to  attack  him,  as  the  fortifications  of  his  citadel  and  his 
splendid  harbor  are  almost  impregnable,  and  he  himself  always 
surrounded  by  a  well-drilled  bodyguard. 

"Through  the  traders  who  followed  the  fortunate  Kolaeus§ 
to  the  far  west,  and  these  pirate  ships,  Samos  will  become 
the  richest  of  islands  and  Polykrates  the  most  powerful  of  men, 
unless,  as  your  father  says,  the  gods  become  envious  of  such 
unchanging  good  fortune  and  prepare  him  a  sudden  and 
speedy  downfall. 

"In  this  fear  Amasis  advised  Polykrates,  as  his  old  friend, 
to  put  away  from  him  the  thing  he  held  dearest,  and  in  such 
a  manner  that  he  might  be  sitre  of  never  receiving  it  again. 
Polykrates  adopted  his  advice  and  threw  into  the  sea,  from 
the  top  of  the  round  tower  on  his  citadel,  his  most  valuable 
signet-ring,  an  unusually  large  sardonyx  held  by  two  dolphins. 
This  ring  was  the  work  of  Theodorus,  and  a  lyre,  the  symbol 
of  the  ruler,  was  exquisitely  engraved  on  the  stone.|| 

*"Herod.,"  iii,  39. 

fPisistratus,  who  has  already  been  spoken  of,  died  at  a  great  age, 
527  B.  C.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  eldest  son,  Hippias. 

JRhenea  is  one  of  the  northern  Cyclades.  "Herod.,"  iii,  39.  "Thu- 
cydides,"  i,  13,  iii,  104. 

§In  the  seventh  century  B.  C.  a  Samian  captain  named  Kolaeus  was 
driven  out  of  his  course  during  a  voyage  to  Egypt,  and  was  the  first 
Greek  that  passed  the  pillars  of  Hercules  (Straiffe  of  Gibraltar).  "Her- 
od.," iv,  152. 

||Both  Pliny  (37,  2)  and  Solinus  (38)  speak  of  the  stone  in  this  well- 
known  ring  as  a  sardonyx.  In  the  time  of  Solinus  the  temple  of  Con- 
cordia  possessed  a  ring,  presented  by  Augustus,  which  was  said  to  have 
belonged  to  Polykrates.  Clemens  of  Alexandria  says  that  a  lyre  was 
engraved  on  this  ring.  The  Arabs  of  the  present  day  tell  a  story  very 
like  the  one  in  our  text;  their  hero,  however,  loses  his  ring  by  accident, 


220  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"Six  days  later,  however,  the  ring  was  found  by  Polykrates*' 
cook  in  the  body  of  a  fish.  He  sent  us  news  at  once  of  this 
strange  occurrence,  but,  instead  of  rejoicing,  your  father  shook 
his  gray  head  sadly,  saying  he  saw  now  it  was  impossible  for 
anyone  to  avoid  his  destiny!  On  the  same  day  he  renounced 
the  friendship  of  Polykrates  and  wrote  him  word  that  he 
should  endeavor  to  forget  him  in  order  to.  avoid  the  grief  of 
seeing  his  friend  in  misfortune. 

"Polykrates  laughed  at  this  message  and  returned  the  letters 
his  pirates  had  taken  from  our  trireme  with  a  derisive  greet- 
ing. For  the  future  all  your  letters  will  be  sent  by  Syria. 

"You  will  ask  me,  perhaps,  why  I  have  told  you  this  long 
story  which  has  so  much  less  interest  for  you  than  any  other 
home  news.  I  answer:  To  prepare  you  for  your  fathers 
state.  Would  you  have  recognized  the  cheerful,  happy,  care- 
less Amasis  in  that  gloomy  answer  to  his  Samian  friend? 

"Alas,  my  husband  has- good  reason  to  be  sad,  and,  since  you 
left  us,  my  own  eyes  have  seldom  been  free  from  tears.  My 
time  is  passed  either  at  the  sick-bed  of  your  sister  or  in  com- 
forting your  father  and  guiding  his  steps;  and,  though  much 
in  need  of  sleep,  I  am  now  taking  advantage  of  night  to  write 
these  lines. 

"Here  I  was  interrupted  by  the  nurs-es  calling  me  to  your 
sister  Tachot,  your  own  true  friend. 

"How  often  the  poor  child  has  called  you  in  her  feverish 
delirium;  and  how  carefully  she  treasures  your  likeness  in 
wax,*  that  wonderful  portrait  which  bears  evidence  not  only 

See  the  story  of  the  clever  Schuchu  in  Fr.  Dieterici's  "Reisebilder  aus 
dem  Morgenlande,"  i,  p.  161.  Schiller  took  the  fable  for  his  beautiful 
ballad  from  Herodotus,  who  gives  a  letter  in  full,  written,  he  tells  us, 
by  Amasis  to  Polykrates.  "Herod."  iii,  40.  We  still  possess  seals 
made  of  sardonyx  stones,  as,  for  instance,  the  beautifully  carved  one 
which  belonged  to  the  king  of  Phoenicia,  Abibal,  and  which  is  now  at 
Florence.  Gori.  "Gemmae  Antiquae  ex  Thesauro  Medicoe,"  p.  56,  pi. 
xxii,  de  Luynes,  "Essal  sur  la  Numismatique  des  Satrapies  de  la  Phe- 
nicie  sous  les  rois  Achaemenides,"  p.  69,  pi.  xiii,  1. 

*Anacreon,  who  lived  at  the  time  of  our  tale,  wrote  a  song  on  a 
picture  of  Eros  made  in  wax,  which  he  had  bought  of  a  boy  for  one 
drachma,  or  nine  pence.  "Anacreon  ed.  Moebius,"  10.  Plato,  too, 
uses  the  word  mpoirMtmx,  that  is,  sculptor  in  wax,  in  "Timaeus," 
p.  74.  But  usually,  fruit  seems  to  have  been  the  principal  object 
imitated  in  wax.  See  Bottiger.  "Kl.  Schriften,"  ii,  p.  98,  iii,  p  304, 
and  Becker,  "Charikles,"  i,  p.  99. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  221 

of  the  height  to  which  Greek  art  has  risen,  but  of  the  master- 
hand  of  the  great  Theodorus.  To-morrow  it  will  be  sent  to 
Aegina,*  to  be  copied  in  gold,  as  the  soft  wax  becomes  injured 
from  frequent  contact  with  your  sister's  burning  hands  and 
lips. 

"And  now,  my  daughter,  you  must  summon  all  your  cour- 
age to  hear  what  I  need  all  my  strength  of  mind  to  tell — the 
sad  story  of  the  fate  which  the  gods  have  decreed  for  our 
house. 

"For  three  days  after  you  left  us  Tachot  wept  incessantly. 
Neither  our  comforting  words  nor  your  father's  good  advice, 
neither  offerings  nor  prayers,  could  avail  to  lessen  her  grief 
or  divert  her  mind.  At  last,  on  the  fourth  day,  she  ceased 
to  weep  and  would  answer  our  questions  in  a  low  voice,  as 
if  resigned;  but  spent  the  greater  part  of  every  day  sitting 
silently  at  her  wheel.  Her  ringers,  however,  which  used  to 
be  so  skillful,  either  broke  the  threads  they  tried  to  spin,  or 
lay  for  hours  idle  in  her  lap,  while  she  was  lost  in  dreams-. 
Your  father's  jokes,  at  which  she  used  to  laugh  so  heartily, 
made  no  impression  on  her,  and  when  I  endeavored  to  reason 
with  her  she  listened  in  anxious  suspense. 

"If  I  kissred  her  forehead  and  begged  her  to  control  herself, 
she  would  spring  up,  blushing  deeply,  and  throw  herself  into 
my  arms,  then  sit  down  again  to  her  wheel  and  begin  to  pull 
at  the  threads  with  almost  frantic  eagerness;  but  in  half  an 
hour  her  hands  would  be  lying  idle  in  her  lap  again  and  her 
eyes  dreamily  fixed,  either  on  the  ground,  or  on  some  spot  in 
the  air.  If  we  forced  her  to  take  part  in  any  entertainment, 
she  would  wander  among  the  guests  totally  uninterested  in 
everything  that  was  passing. 

"We  took  her  with  us  on  the  great  pilgrimage  to  Bubastis, 
during  which  the  Egyptians  forget  their  usual  gravity,  and  the 
shores  of  the  Nile  look  like  a  great  stage  where  the  wild  games 
of  the  satyrs  are  being  performed  by  choruses,  hurried  on  in 
the  unrestrained  wantonness  of  intoxication. f  When  she  saw 

*See  note  p.  15. 

tHerodotus  (ii,  58)  gives  a  description  of  this  riotous  festival.  He 
says  that  it  was  usual  for  seven  hundred  thousand  people  to  under- 
take this  pilgrimage  to  Bubastis  on  the  east  of  the  Pelusinian  Nile 
arm.  and  when  there  to  drink  more  wine  than  during  the  entire  year 
besides.  See  also  note  p  28.  Similar  festivals  were  celebrated  at 


222  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS, 

thus  for  the  first  time  an  entire  people  given  up  to  the  wiliest 
and  most  unfettered  mirth  and  enjoyment,  she  woke  up  from 
her  silent,  brooding  thoughts  and  began  to  weep  again,  as  in 
the  first  days  after  you  went  away. 

"Sad  and  perplexed,  we  brought  our  poor  child  back  to  Sais. 

"Her  looks  were  not  those  of  a  common  mortal.  She  grew 
thinner,  and,  we  all  fancied,  taller;  her  complexion  was  white, 
and  almost  transparent,  with  a  tender  bloom  on  her  cheek, 
which  I  can  only  liken  to  a  young  rose  leaf  or  the  first  faint 
blush  of  sunrise.  Her  eyes  are  still  wonderfully  clear  and 
bright.  It  always  seems  to  me  as  if  they  looked  beyond  the 
heaven  and  earth  which  we  see. 

"As  she  continued  to  suffer  more  and  more  from  heat  in 
the  head  and  hands,  while  her  tender  limbs  often  shivered 
with  a  slight  chill,  we  sent  to  Thebes  for  Thutmes,  the  most 
celebrated  physician  for  inward  complaints. 

"The  experienced  priest  shook  his  head  on  seeing  your 
sister  and  foretold  a  serious  illness.  He  forbade  her  to  spin 
or  to  speak  much.  Potions  of  all  kinds  were  given  her  to 
drink,  her  illness  was  discussred  and  exorcised,*  the  stars  and 
oracles  consulted,  rich  presents  and  sacrifices  made  to  the 

Dendera,  the  goddess  of  which  place,  Hathor,  was  also  called  "the 
great  one"  of  Bubastis.  This  we  learn  from  the  inscription.  See 
note  p.  29.  The  excesses  which  took  place  on  these  occasions,  arid 
the  entire  nature  and  worship  of  the  goddess  Bast,  are  undoubtedly 
connected  with  the  Phoenician  religion,  in  explanation  of  which  con- 
nection we  must  remind  our  readers  that  the  delta  coast  of  the  Med- 
iterranean was  colonized  by  Phoenicians  at  a  very  early  period. 

*The  Egyptian  physicians  seem  often  to  have  used  charms  and 
incantations  for  the  sick.  Medical  directions  for  these,  of  various 
kinds,  have  been  preserved  in  the  hieratic  papyri,  among  which  the 
one  on  medicine  in  Berlin  is  especially  celebrated.  It  has  been  edited 
by  Brugsch  in  his  "Recueil  de  Monum.  Egyptiens,"  pi.  85-107. 
Chabas  ("Melanges  Egyptol.,"  1862)  has  treated  it  very  ably,  and 
Brugsch  also;  see  "Notice  Raisonn6e  d'un  Traite  Medical.  Datant 
du  xiv  Siecle  Avant  Notre  ere."  See  also  H.  Brugsch,  "Ueber  die 
Medicinische  Kenntniss  der  Alten  Aegypter  und  iiber  ein  Altaegyp- 
tisches  Medicin.  Manuscript  des  Berl.  Museums."  "Allgemeine  Mo- 
natsschrift  f.  Wissenschaft  u.Literatur,"  1853.  This  papyrus  describes 
the  condition  of  a  patient  characteristically  in  the  following  words: 
"His  body  is  heavy,  the  opening  of  his  stomach  is  burning,  his 
clothes  are  a  burden  to  him,  and,  though  he  wears  many,  yet  he  is  not 
warm.  In  the  night  he  feels  thirst;  the  taste  of  his  heart  (stomach) 
is  spoiled,  like  that  of  him  who  has  eaten  sycamore  figs — he  has  a 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  223 

gods.  The  priest  of  Hathor  from  the  island  of  Philae  sent 
us  a  consecrated  amulet;  the  priest  of  Osiris  in  Abydos  a  lock 
of  hair  from  the  god  himself  set  in  gold,  and  Neithotep,  the 
high  priest  of  our  guardian  goddess,  set  on  foot  a  great  sacri- 
fice which  was  to  restore  your  sister  to  health. 

"But  neither  physicians  nor  charms  were  of  any  avail,  and 
at  last  Neithotep  confessed  that  Tachot's  stars  gave  but  little 
ground  for  hope.  Just  then,  too,  the  sacred  bull  at  Memphis 
died  and  the  priests  could  discover  no  heart  in  his  entrails, 
which  they  interpreted  as  prognosticating  evil  to  our  country. 
They  have  not  yet  succeeded  in  finding  a  new  Apis,  and  be- 
lieve that  the  gods  are  wroth  with  your  father's  kingdom. 
Indeed  the  oracle  of  Buto  has  declared  that  the  immortals  will 
show  no  favor  to  Egypt  until  all  the  temples-  that  have  been 
built  in  the  black  lands*  for  the  worship  of  false  gods  are 
destroyed  and  their  worshipers  banished. 

"These  evil  omens  have  proved,  alas!  only  too  true.  Tachot 
fell  ill  of  a  dreadful  fever  and  lay  for  nine  days  hovering  be- 
tween life  and  death;  she  is  still  so  weak  that  she  must  be 
carried,  and  can  move  neither  hand  nor  foot. 


nest  of  inflammation  within  him — when  he  rises  he  is  like  a  man 
who  is  prevented  from  walking  by  others."  Among  the  remedies 
mentioned  is:  "An  ointment  for  outward  application  made  of  palm- 
wine,  salt  and  incense."  Spells  and  the  magical  element  appear,  too, 
in  this  manuscript.  Isis  is  to  be  called  upon  to  destroy  the  germs  of 
disease,  and  remarkable  means  made  use  of  in  certain  cases.  In  this 
place,  too,  I  must  mention  the  demotic  Greek  papyri  now  at  Leyden, 
which  has  been  rendered  accessible  to  the  literary  world  by  Dr.  Lee- 
mans'  valuable  work,  "Monuments  Egyptien  du  Musee  de  Leyde." 
Sect.  2  contains  the  "Recette  Medicale  par  Hemerius."  See  also  sec. 
15.  I  would  here  call  to  mind  the  "Griechisch-Aegyptischen  Zauber- 
papyrus,"  edited  by  Parthey.  The  fumigations  mentioned  by  Plu- 
tarch (Is.  and  Os.)  as  disinfectants,  are  very  reasonable.  A  remark- 
able formula  of  exorcism  has  come  down  to  us  through  a  Coptic  MS. 
in  which  the  writer  has  transformed  the  Egyptian  divinities  into  the 
Archangels  Michael,  Uriel  and  Gabriel.  Dulaurier,  "Recette  Depre- 
catoire."  "Journal  Asiatique,"  iv,  t.  i,  p.  433.  Horapollo  (i,  23)  speaks 
of  amulets  possessing  medicinal  powers,  and  Tacitus  of  oracles,  "His- 
tor.,"  iv,  81.  We  could  fill  a  larger  space  with  similar  quotations. 
It  is  strange  that  such  remedies,  even  up  to  the  present  day,  continue 
to  be  believed  in  and  used,  often  as  they  have  proved  ineffectual. 

*Egypt  was  called  by  its  ancient  inhabitants  Cham,  the  black,  or 
black-earthed. 


224  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"During  the  journey  to  Bubatis1,  Amasis'  eyes,  as  so  often 
happens  here,*  became  inflamed.  Instead  of  sparing  them 
he  continued  to  work  as  usual  from  sunrise  until  midday,  and 
while  your  sister  was  so  ill  he  never  left  her  bed,  notwith- 
standing all  our  entreaties.  But  I  will  not  enter  into  particu- 
lars, my  child.  His  eyes  grew  worse,  and  on  the  very  day 
which  brought  us  the  news  of  your  safe  arrival  in  Babylon 
Amasis  became  totally  blind. 

"The  cheerful,  active  man  has  become  old,  gloomy  and  de- 
crepit since  that  day.  The  death  of  Apis  and  the  unfavorable 
constellations  and  oracles  weigh  on  his  mind;  his  happy 
temper  is  clouded  by  the  unbroken  night  in  which  he  lives; 
and  the  consciousness  that  he  cannot  stir  a  step  alone  causes 
indecision  and  uncertainty.  The  daring  and  independent  ruler 
will  soon  become  a  mere  tool  by  means  of  which  the  priests 
can  work  their  will. 

"He  spends  hours  in  the  temple  of  Neith,  praying  and  offer- 
ing sacrifices;  a  number  of  workmen  are  employed  there  in 
building  a  tomb  for  his  mummy,  and  the  same  number  at 
Memphis  in  leveling  the  temple  which  the  Greeks  have  begun 
building  to  Apollo.  He  speaks  of  his  own  and  Tachot's  mis- 
fortunes as  a  just  punishment  from  the  immortals. 

"His  visits  to  Tachot's  sick-bed  are  not  the  least  comfort 
to  her,  for  instead  of  encouraging  her  kindly  he  only  endeavors 
to  convince  her  that  she,  too,  deserves  punishment  from  the 
gods.  He  spends-  all  his  remarkable  eloquence  in  trying  to 
persuade  her  that  she  must  forget  this  world  entirely  and  only 
try  to  gain  favor  of  Osiris  and  the  judges  of  the  nether  world 
by  ceaseless  prayers  and  sacrifices.  In  this  manner  he  only 
tortures  our  poor,  sick  child,  for  she  hasr  not  lost  her  love  of 
life.  Perhaps  I  have  still  too  much  of  the  Greek  left  in  n\e  for 
a  queen  of  i^gypt,  but  really  death  is  so  long  and  life  so  short 
that  I  cannot  help  calling  even  wise  men  foolish  when  they 

*The  Egyptian  eye  disease,  which  unfortunately  is  not  unknown 
to  us  moderns,  must  have  raged  on  the  shores  of  the  Nile  in  "very 
early  ages.  Egyptian  oculists  were  already  very  celebrated  at  the 
time  of  our  tale.  Herodotus  says  that  Egypt  swarmed  with  physi- 
cians, and  we  find  blind  people  represented  on  the  monuments.  Oph- 
thalmia is  fearfully  frequent  among  the  modern  Egyptians.  F. 
Pruner.  "Krankheiten  des  Orients."  Bruaut,  "Notice  sur  1'Opthalmie 
Regnante-."  In  the  "Me'moires  sur  1'Egypte,"  i,  p.  95-103^ 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  225 

devote  the  half  of  even  this  short  term  to  a  perpetual  medita- 
tion on  the  gloomy  hades. 

"I  have  just  been  interrupted  again.  Our  great  physician. 
Thutmes,  came  to  inquire  after  his  patient.  He  gives  very 
little  hope,  and  seems  surprised  that  her  delicate  frame  has 
been  able  to  resist  death  so  long.  He  said  yesterday:  'She 
would  have  sunk  long  ago  if  not  kept  up  by  her  determined 
will  and  a  longing  which  gives  her  no  rest.  If  she  ceased  to 
care  for  life  she  could  allow  death  to  take  her  just  as  we  dream 
ourselves  asleep.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  her  wish  could  be 
gratified,  she  might  (though  it  is  hardly  probable)  live  some 
years  yet,  but  if  it  remain  but  a  short  time  longer  unfulfilled 
it  will  certainly  wear  her  to  death.' 

"Have  you  any  idea  for  whom  she  longs  so  eagerly?  Our 
Tachot  has  allowed  herself  to  be  fascinated  by  the  beautiful 
Bartja,  the  brother  of  your  future  husband.  I  do  not  mean 
to  say  by  this  that  he  has  employed  magic,  as  the  priest 
Ameneman  believes,  to  gain  her  love;  for  a  youth  might 
be  far  less-  handsome  and  agreeable  than  Bartja  and  yet  take 
the  heart  of  an  innocent  girl,  still  half  a  child.  But  her  pas- 
sionate feeling  is  so  strong,  and  the  change  in  her  whole  being 
so  great,  that  sometimes  I,  too,  am  tempted  to  believe  in  the 
use  of  supernatural  influence.  A  short  time  before  you  left  I 
noticed  that  Tachot  was  fond  of  Bartja.  Her  distress  at  first 
we  thought  could  only  be  for  you,  but  when  she  sank  into  that 
dreamy  state,  Ibykus,  who  was  still  at  our  court,  said  she  must 
have  been  seized  by  some  strong  passion. 

"Once,  when  she  was  sitting  dreaming  at  her  wheel,  I  heard 
him  singing  softly  Sappho's  little  love-song  to  her: 

"  'I  cannot,  sweet  my  mother, 
Throw  shuttle  any  more; 
My  heart  is  full  of  longing 
My  spirit  troubled  sore, 
All  for  a  love  of  yesterday, 
A  boy  not  seen  before.'* 

"She  turned  pale  and  asked  him:   'Is  that  your  own  song?' 
"'No,'  said  he;    'Sappho  wrote  it  fifty  years  ago.' 
"  'Fifty  years  ago,'  echoed  Tachot,  musingly. 

*"Sappho  ed.  Neue,"  xxxii.  Translation  from  Edwin  Arnold's 
"Poets  of  Greece." 


226  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"  'Love  is  always  the  same/  interrupted  the  poet;  'women 
loved  centuries  ago,  and  will  love  thousands  of  years  to  come, 
just  as  Sappho  loved  fifty  years  back.' 

"The  sick  girl  smiled  in  assent,  and  from  that  time  I  often 
heard  her  humming  the  little  song  as  she  sat  at  her  wheel. 
But  we  carefully  avoided  every  question  that  could  remind  her 
of  him  she  loved.  In  the  delirium  of  fever,  however,  Bartja's 
name  was  always  on  her  burning  lips.  When  she  recovered 
consciousness  we  told  her  what  she  had  said  in  her  delirium ; 
then  she  opened  her  heart  to  me,  and,  raising  her  eyes  to 
heaven  like  a  prophetess,  exclaimed,  solemnly:  'I  know  that 
I  shall  not  die  till  I  have  seen  him  again.' 

"A  short  time  ago  we  had  her  carried  into  the  temple,  as 
she  longed  to  worship  there  again.  When  the  service  was 
over  and  we  were  crossing  the  temple  court  we  passed  some 
children  at  play,  and  Tachot  noticed  a  little  girl  telling  some- 
thing very  eagerly  to.  her  companions.  She  told  the  bearers 
to  put  down  the  litter  and  call  the  child  to  her. 

"  'What  were  you  saying?'  she  asked  the  little  one. 

'  'I  was  telling  the  others  something  about  my  eldest  sister.' 

"'May  I  hear  it,  too?'  said  Tachot  so  kindly  that  the  little 
girl  began  at  once  without  fear:  "'Batau,  who  is  betrothed 
to  my  sister,  came  back  from  Thebes  quite  unexpectedly  yes- 
terday evening.  Just  as  the  Isis  star*  was  rising  he  came  sud- 
denly onto  our  roof,  where  Kerimama  was  playing  at  draughts 
with  my  father;  and  he  brought  her  such  a  beautiful  golden 
bridal  wreath.' 

"Tachot  kissed  the  child  and  gave  her  her  own  costly  fan. 
When  we  were  at  home  again  she  smiled  archly  at  me  and 
said:  'You  know,  mother  dear,  that  the  words  children  say 
in  the  temple  courts  are  believed  to  be  oracles. f  So,  if  the 
little  one  spoke  the  truth,  he  must  come;  and  did  you  not  hear 
that  he  is  to  bring  the  bridal  wreath?  Oh,  mother,  I  am  sure — 
quite  sure — that  I  shall  see  him  again.' 

"I  asked  her  yesterday  if  she  had  any  message  for  you,  and 
she  begged  me  to  say  that  she  sent  you  thousands  of  kisses 

*Among  the  Egyptians  the  planet  Venus  bore  the  name  of  the 
goddess  Isis.  "Pliny,"  ii,  6.  Arist.,  "De  Mundo,"  ii,  7.  Earlv  monu- 
ments prove  that  they  were  acquainted  with  the  identity  of  the  morn- 
ing and  evening  star.  Lepsius,  "Chronologic,"  p.  94. 

tPlutarch,  "I.  and  0.,"  14.    "Pausanias,"  vii,  22. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  227 

and  messages  of  love,  and  that  when  she  was  stronger  she 
meant  to  write,  as  she  had  a  great  deal  to  tell  you.  She  has 
just  brought  me  the  little  note  which  I  inclose;  it  is  for  you 
alone,  and  has  cost  her  much  fatigue  to  write. 

"But  now  I  must  finish  my  letter,  as  the  messenger  has  been 
waiting  for  it  some  time. 

"I  wish  I  could  give  you  some  joyful  news,  but  sadness  and 
sorrow  meet  me  whichever  way  I  turn.  Your  brother  yields 
more  and  more  to  the  priests'  tyranny,  and  manages  the  affairs 
of  state  for  your  poor,  blind  father  under  Neithotep's  guidance. 

"Amasis  does-  not  interfere,  and  says  it  matters  little  whether 
his  place  be  filled  a  few  days  sooner  or  later  by  his  successor. 

"He  did  not  attempt  to  prevent  Psamtik  from  seizing  the 
children  of  Phanes  in  Rhodopis'  house,  and  actually  allowed 
his  son  to  enter  into  a  negotiation  with  the  descendants  of 
those  two  hundred  thousand  soldiers*  who  emigrated  to 
Ethiopia  in  the  reign  of  Psamtik  I  on  account  of  the  preference 
shown  to  the  Greek  mercenaries.  In  case  they  declared  them- 
selves willing  to  return  to  their  native  land  the  Greek  mer- 
cenaries were  to  have  been  dismissed.  The  negotiation  failed 
entirely,  but  Psamtik's  treatment  of  the  children  of  Phanes  has 
given  bitter  offense  to  the  Greeks.  Aristomachus  threatened 
to  leave  Egypt,  taking  with  him  ten  thousand  of  his  best  troops, 
and  on  hearing  that  Phanes'  son  had  been  murdered  at  Psam- 
tik's command  applied  for  his  discharge.  From  that  time 
the  Spartan  disappeared,  no  one  knows  whither;  but  the 
Greek  troops  allowed  themselves  to  be  bribed  by  immense 
sums  and  are  still  in  Egypt. 

"Amasis  said  nothing  to  all  this1,  and  looked  on  silently 
from  the  midst  of  his  prayers  and  sacrifices,  while  your  brother 
was  either  offending  every  class  of  his  subjects  or  attempting 
to  pacify  them  by  means  belowr  the  dignity  of  a  ruler.  The 
commanders  of  the  Egyptian  and  Greek  troops  and  the  gov- 
ernors of  different  provinces  have  all  alike  assured  me  that 
the  present  state  of  things  is  intolerable.  No  one  knows  what 
to  expect  from  this  new  ruler;  he  commands  to-day  the  very 

*According  to  Herodotus  (ii,  29-31)  two  hundred  and  forty  thousand 
men.  According  to  Diod.  (i,  67),  more  than  two  hundred  thousand. 
In  the  great  rock  temple  of  Rameses  II,  at  Abusimbel,  in  Nubia, 
Greek  and  Phoenician  inscriptions  have  been  found  written  by  the 
pursuers  of  .these  fugitives.  L^psius,  "Denkmaler,"  iv,  bl.  98  and  99. 


228  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

thing  which  he  angrily  forbade  the  day  before.  Such  a  gov- 
ernment must  soon  snap  the  beautiful  bond  which  has  hitherto 
united  the  Egyptian  people  to  their  king. 

"Farewell,  my  child;  think  of  your  poor  friend,  your  mother; 
and  forgive  your  parents  when  you  hear  what  they  have  so 
long  kept  secret  from  you.  Pray  for  Tachot,  and  remember 
us  to  Croesus  and  the  young  Persians  whom  we  know.  Give 
a  special  message,  too,  from  Tachot  to  Bartja;  I  beg  him  to 
think  of  it  as  the  last  legacy  of  one  very  near  death.  If  you 
could  only  send  her  some  proof  that  he  has  not  forgotten  her! 

"Farewell!  once  more,  farewell,  and  be  happy  in  your  new 
and  blooming  home." 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


Sad  realities  follow  bright  anticipations  nearly  as  surely  as 
a  rainy  day  succeeds  a  golden  sunrise. 

Nitetis  had  been  so  happy  in  the  thought  of  reading  the 
very  letter  which  poured  such  bitter  drops  of  wormwood  into' 
her  cup  of  happiness. 

One  beautiful  element  in  her  life,  the  remembrance  of  her 
dear  home  and, the  companions  of  her  happy  childhood,  had 
been  destroyed  in  one  moment,  as  if  by  the  touch  of  a  magi- 
cian's wand. 

She  sat  there  in  her  royal  purple,  weeping,  forgetful  of  every- 
thing but  her  mother's  grief,  her  father's  misfortunes  and  her 
sister's  illness.  The  joyful  future,  full  of  love,  joy  and  hap- 
piness, which  had  been  beckoning  her  forward  only  a  few 
minutes  before,  had  vanished.  Cambyses'  chosen  bride  for- 
got her  waiting,  longing  lover,  and  the  future  queen  of  Persia 
could  think  of  nothing  but  the 'sorrows  of  Egypt's  royal  house. 

It  was  long  past  midday  when  the  attendant  Mandane  came 
to  put  a  last  touch  to  Nitetis'  dress  and  ornaments. 

"She  is  asleep,"  thought  the  girl.  "I  can  let  her  rest  another 
quarter  of  an  hour;  the  sacrifice  this  morning  has  tired  her, 
and  we  must  have  her  fresh  and  beautiful  for  the  evening 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  229 

banquet;  then  she  will  outshine  the  others  as  the  moon  does 
the  stars." 

Unnoticed  by  her  mistress  she  slipped  out  of  the  room,  the 
windows  of  which  commanded  a  splendid  view  over  the  hang- 
ing-gardens, the  immense  city  beneath,  the  river,  and  the  rich 
and  fruitful  Babylonian  plain,  and  went  into  the  garden. 

Without  looking  round  she  ran  to  a  flower-bed  to  pluck 
some  roses.  Her  eyes  were  fixed  on  her  new  bracelet,  the 
stones  of  which  sparkled  in  the  sun,  and  she  did  not  notice  a 
richly  dressed  man  peering  in  at  one  of  the  windows  of  the 
room  where  Nitetis  lay  weeping.  On  being  disturbed  in  his 
watching  and  listening  he  turned  at  once  to  the  girl  and 
greeted  her  in  a  high  treble  voice. 

She  started, and  on  recognizing  the  eunuch  Boges, answered: 
"It  is  not  polite,  sir,  to  frighten  a  poor  girl  in  this  way.  By 
Mithras,  if  I  had  seen  you  before  I  heard  you  I  think  I  should 
have  fainted.  A  woman's  voice  does  not  take  me  by  sur- 
prise, but  to  find  a  man  here  is  as  rare  as  to  find  a  swan  in 
the  desert/' 

Boges  laughed  good-humoredly,  though  he  well  under- 
stood her  saucy  allusion  to  his  high  voice,  and  answered, 
rubbing  his  fat  hands:  "Yes,  it  is  very  hard  for  a  young  and 
pretty  bird  like  you  to  have  to  live  in  such  a  lonely  corner, 
but  be  patient,  sweetheart.  Your  mistress1  will  soon  be  queen, 
and  then  she  will  look  out  a  handsome  young  husband  for 
you.  Ah,  ha!  you  will  find  it  pleasanter  to  live  here  alone 
with  him  than  with  your  beautiful  Egyptian." 

"My  mistress  is  too  beautiful  for  some  people's  fancy,  and 
I  have  never  asked  anyone  to  look  out  a  husband  for  me," 
she  answered,  pertly.  "I  can  find  one  without  your  help, 
either." 

"Who  could  doubt  it?  Such  a  pretty  face  is  as  good  a 
bait  for  a  man  as  a  worm  for  a  fish." 

"But  I  am  not  trying  to  catch  a  husband,  and,  least  of  all, 
one  like  you." 

"That  I  can  easily  believe,"  he  answered,  laughing.  "But 
tell  me,  my  treasure,  why  are  you  so  hard  on  me?  Have  I 
done  anything  to  vex  you?  Wasn't  it  through  me  that  you 
obtained  this  good  appointment,  and  are  not  we  both  Medes?" 

"You  might  just  as  well  say  that  we  are  both  human  beings, 
and  have  five  ringers  on  each  hand  and  a  nose  in  the  middle 


230  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

of  our  faces.  Half  the  people  here  are  Medes,  and  if  I  had 
as  many  friends  as-  I  have  countrymen  I  might  be  queen 
to-morrow.  And  as  to  my  situation  here,  it  was  not  you 
but  the  high-priest  Oropastes  who  recommended  me  to  the 
great  Queen  Kassandane.  Your  will  is  not  law  here." 

"What  are  you  talking  about,  my  sweet  one?  Don't  you 
know  that  not  a  single  waiting-woman  can  be  engaged  with- 
out my  consent?" 

"Oh,  yes,  I  know  that  as  well  as  you  do,  but " 

"But  you  women  are  an  unthankful  race  and  don't  deserve 
our  kindness1." 

"Please  do  not  forget  that  you  are  speaking  to  a  girl  of 
good  family." 

"I  know  that  very  well,  my  little  one.  I  know  that  your 
father  was  a  Magian  and  your  mother  a  Magian's  daughter; 
that  they  both  died  early  and  you  were  placed  under  the  care 
of  the  Destur  Ixabates,  the  father  of  Oropastes,  and  grew 
up  with  his  children.  I  know,  too,  that  when  you  had  received 
the  earrings  Oropastes'  brother  Gaumata*  (you  need  not  blush, 
Gaumata  is  a  pretty  name)  fell  in  love  with  your  rosy  face 
and  wanted  to  marry  you,  though  he  was  only  nineteen. 
Gaumata  and  Mandane — how  well  the  two  names  sound 
together!  Mandane  and  Gaumata!  If  I  were  a  poet  I 
should  call  my  hero  Gaumata  and  his  lady-love  Mandane." 

"I  insist  on  your  ceasing  to  jest  in  this  way,"  cried  Man- 
dane, blushing  deeply  and  stamping  her  foot. 

"What,  are  you  angry  because  I  say  the  names  sound  well 
together?  You  ought  rather  to  be  angry  with  the  proud 
Oropastes,  who  sent  his  younger  brother  to  Rhagaef  and  you 
to  the  court  that  you  might  forget  one  another." 

"Known  among  the  Greeks  by  the  name  of  Smerdis.  But  in  the 
cuneiform  inscriptions  he  is  called  Gumata,  or,  according  to  Spiegel, 
Gaumata.  "Inscription  of  Behistan,"  xi.  "Justin.,"  i,  9,  gives  the 
correct  name,  though  somewhat  disfigured,  and  calls  Smerdis  Ko- 
metes.  For  this  reason  we  have  taken  the  name  Oropastes  also  from 
him,  though  "Herod.,"  iii,  61,  gives  Patizeithes. 

tRhagae  (Rhagai),  in  the  time  of  Alexander  Europes — later,  under 
Seleucus  Nicator,  Arsacia— and  now  called  Rai,  is  one  of  the  oldest 
towns  in  Persia.  Zoroaster  is  said  to  have  been  born  here,  and  the 
same  is  told  of  Haroun-el-Raschid.  In  the  Apocrypha  Tobit  is  said 
to  have  been  cast  ashore  at  Rages.  In  this  town  there  was  a  famous 
school  for  priests. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  231 

"That  is  a  slander  on  my  benefactor." 

"Let  my  tongue  wither  away  if  I  am  not  speaking  the 
truth  and  nothing  but  the  truth!  Oropastes  separated  you 
and  his  brother  because  he  had  higher  intentions  for  the 
handsome  Gaumata  than  a  marriage  with  the  orphan,  daugh- 
ter of  an  inferior  Magian.  He  would  have  been  satisfied 
with  Amytis  or  Menische  for  a  sister-in-law,  but  a  poor  girl 
like  you,  who  owed  everything  to  his  bounty,  would  only 
have  stood  in  the  way  of  his  ambitious  plans'.  Between  our- 
selves, he  would  like  to  be  appointed  regent  of  Persia  while 
the  king  is  away  at  the  Massagetan  war,  and  would,  there- 
fore, give  a  great  deal  to  connect  himself  by  marriage  in  some 
way  or  other  with  the  Achaemenidae.  At  his  age  a  new 
wife  is  not  to  be  thought  of;  but  his  brother  is  young  and 
handsome;  indeed,  people  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  he  is 
like  the  Prince  Bartja." 

"That  is  true,"  exclaimed  the  girl.  "Only  think,  when  we 
•went  out  to  meet  my  mistress  and  I  saw  Bartja  for  the  first 
time  from  the  window  of  the  station-house  I  thought  he  was 
Gaumata.  They  are  so  like  one  another  that  they  might  be 
twins,  and  they  are  the  handsomest  men  in  the  kingdom." 

"How  you  are  blushing,  my  pretty  rosebud!  But  the  like- 
ness between  them  is  not  quite  so  great  as  all  that.  When 
I  spoke  to  the  high-priest's  brother  this  morning — 

"Gaumata  is  here?"  interrupted  the  girl,  passionately.  "Have 
you  really  seen  him,  or  are  you  trying  to  draw  me  out  and 
make  fun  of  me?" 

"By  Mithras,  my  sweet  one,  I  kissed  his  forehead  this  very 
morning,  and  he  made  me  tell  him  a  great  deal  about  his 
darling.  Indeed,  his  blue  eyes,  his  golden  curls  and  his 
lovely  complexion,  like  the  bloom  on  a  peach,  were  so  irre- 
sistible that  I  felt  inclined  to  try  and  work  impossibilities  for 
him.  Spare  your  blushes,  my  little  pomegranate-blossom, 
till  I  have  told  you  all,  and  then  perhaps  in  future  you  will 
not  be  so  hard  upon  poor  Boges;  you  will  see  that  he  has 
a  good  heart,  full  of  kindness  for  his  beautiful,  saucy  little 
countrywoman." 

"I  do  not  trust  you,"  she  answered,  interrupting  these  assur- 
ances. "I  have  been  warned  against  your  smooth  tongue, 
and  I  do  not  know  what  I'  have  done  to  deserve  this  kind 
interest." 


232  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS 

"Do  you  know  this?"  he  asked,  showing  her  a  white  ribbon 
embroidered  all  over  with  little  golden  flames. 

"It  is  the  last  present  I  worked  for  him,"  exclaimed  Man- 
dane. 

"I  asked  him  for  his  token,  because  I  knew  you  would  not 
trust  me.  Who  ever  heard  of  a  prisoner  loving  his  jailer?'' 

"But  tell  me  at  once,  quickly — what  does  my  old  play- 
fellow want  me  to  do?  Look,  the — western  sky  is  beginning 
to  glow.  Evening  is  coming  en  and  I  must  arrange  my 
mistress'  dress  and  ornaments  for  the  banquet." 

"Well,  I  will  not  keep  you  long,"  said  the  eunuch,  becom- 
ing so  serious:  that  Mandane  was  frightened.  "If  you  do 
not  choose  to  believe  that  I  would  run  into  any  risk  out  of 
friendship  to  you,  then  fancy  that  I  forward  your  love  affair 
to  humble  the  pride  of  Oropastes.  He  threatens  to  supplant 
me  in  the  king's  favor,  and  I  am  determined,  let  him  plot 
and  intrigue  as  he  likes,  that  you  shall  marry  Gattmata. 
To-morrow  evening,  after  the  Tistar  star  has  risen,*  your 
lover  shall  come  to  s-ee  you.  I  will  see  that  all  the  guards 
are  away,  so  that  he  can  come  without  danger,  stay  one  hour 
and  talk  over  the  future  with  you;  but,  remember,  only  one 
hour.  I  see  clearly  that  your  mistress  will  be  Cambyses' 
favorite  wife,  and  will  then  forward  your  marriage,  for  she 
is  very  fond  of  you,  and  thinks  no  praise  too  high  for  your 
fidelity  and  skill.  So,  to-morrow  evening,"  he  continued, 
falling  back  into  the  jesting  tone  peculiar  to  him,  "when  the 
Tistar  star  rises-  fortune  will  begin  to  shine  on  you.  Why 
do  you  look  down?  Why  don't  you  answer?  Gratitude  stop:; 
your  pretty  little  mouth,  eh?  Is  that  the  reason?  Well,  my 
little  bird,  I  hope  you  won't  be  quite  so  silent  if  you  should 
ever  have  a  chance  of  praising  poor  Boges  to  your  powerful 
mistress.  And  what  message  shall  I  being  to  the  handsome 
Gaumata?  May  I  say  that  you  have  not  forgotten  him  and 
will  be  delighted  to  see  him  again?  You  hesitate?  Well,  I 
am  very  sorry,  but  it  is  getting  dark  and  I  must  go.  I  have 

The  Tistar  star  (probably  Sirius  or  the  dog-star)  in  the  Avesta, 
"Tistrija,"  and  in  the  Vedas,  Tishija,  was  invoked  by  the  Persians 
as  a  brilliant,  powerful  star,  which  brought  the  rain  so  valuable  in 
Persia.  It  is  often  mentioned  in  the  Parsee  sacred  books.  Spiegel, 
"Avesta,"  i,  1,  "Excurs.,"  p.  274.  Many  Jashts  treat  of  this  star. 
Anquetil  in  his  "Vie  de  Zoroaster,"  p.  1,  ventures  to  derive  the  name 
Zerethoschtro  from  "zere,"  gold,  and  "thaschtre,"  Tistar  star. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  233 

to  inspect  the  women's  dresses  for  the  birthday  banquet. 
Ah!  one  thing  I  forgot  to  mention.  Gaumata  must  leave 
Babylon  to-morrow.  Oropastes  is  afraid  that  he  may  chftnce 
to  see  you,  and  told  him  to»  return  to  Rhagae  directly  the 
festival  was  over.  What!  still  silent?  Well,  then,  I  really 
cannot  help  you  or  that  poor  fellow,  either.  But  I  shall  gain 
my  ends  quite  as  well  without  you,  and,  perhaps,  after  all  it 
is  better  that  you  should  forget  one  another.  Good-by." 

It  was  a  hard  struggle  for  the  girl.  She  felt  nearly  sure 
that  Boges  was  deceiving  her,  and  a  voice  within  warned  her 
that  it  would  be  better  to  refuse  her  lover  this1  meeting.  Duty 
and  prudence  gained  the  upper  hand,  and  she  was  just  going 
to  exclaim,  "Tell  him  I  cannot  see  him,"  when  her  eye  caught 
the  ribbon  she  had  once  embroidered  for  her  handsome  play- 
fellow. Bright  pictures  from  her  childhood  flashed  through 
her  mind,  short  moments  of  intoxicating  happiness;  love, 
recklessness*  and  longing  gained  the  day  in  their  turn  over  her 
sense  of  right,  her  misgivings  and  her  prudence,  and  before 
Boges  could  finish  his  farewell,  she  called  out,  almost  in  spite 
of  herself  and  flying  toward  the  house  like  a  frightened  fawn : 
"I  shall  expect  him." 

Boges  passed  quickly  through  the  flowery  paths  of  the 
hanging-gardens.  He  stopped  at  the  parapet  and  cautiously 
opened  a  hidden  trap-door  admitting  to  a  secret  staircase 
which  wound  down  through  one  of  the  huge  pillars  supporting 
the  hanging-gardens,  and  which  had  probably  been  intended 
by  their  original  designer  as  a  means  of  reaching  his  wife's 
apartments  unobserved  from  the  shores  of  the  river.  The  door 
moved  easily  on  its  hinges,  and  when  Boges  had  shut  it  again 
and  strewed  a  few  of  the  river  shells  from  the  garden  walks 
over  it,  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  find,  even  for  anyone 
who  had  come  with  that  purpose.  The  eunuch  rubbed  his 
jeweled  hands,  smiling  the  while,  as  was  his  custom,  and 
murmured:  "It  can't  fail  to  succeed  now;  the  girl  is  caught, 
her  lover  is  at  my  beck  and  call,  the  old  secret  flight  of  steps 
is  in  good  order,  Nitetis  has  been  weeping  bitterly  on  a  day 
of  universal  rejoicing,  and  the  blue  lily  opens  to-morrow  night. 
Ah,  ha!  my  little  plan  can't  possibly  fail  now.  And  to-morrow, 
my  pretty  Egyptian  kitten,  your  little  velvet  paw  will  be  fast 
in  a  trap  set  by  the  poor,  despised  eunuch,  who  was  not 
allowed,  forsooth,  to  give  you  any  orders," 


234  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

His  eyes  gleamed  maliciously  as  he  said  these  words  and 
hurried  from  the  garden. 

At  the  great  flight  of  steps  he  met  another  eunuch,  named 
Neriglissar,  who  held  the  office  of  head  gardener  and  lived 
at  the  hanging-gardens. 

"How  is  the  blue  lily  going  on?"  asked  Boges. 

"It  is  unfolding  magnificently!''  cried  the  gardener,  in  enthu- 
siasm at  the  mere  mention  of  his  cherished  flower.  "To-mor- 
row, as  I  promised,  when  the  Tistar  star  rises,  it  will  be  in  all 
its  beauty.  My  Egyptian  mistress  will  be  delighted,  for  she 
is  very  fond  of  flowers,  and  may  I  ask  you  to  tell  the  king 
and  the  Achaemeniclae  that  under  my  care  this  rare  plant 
has  at  last  flowered?  It  is  to  be  seen  in  full  beauty  only  once 
in  every  ten  years.  Tell  the  noble  Achaemenidae  this  and 
bring  them  here." 

"Your  wish  shall  be  granted,"  said  Boges,  smiling,  "but 
I  think  you  must  not  reckon  on  the  king,  as  I  do  not  expect 
he  will  visit  the  hanging-gardens  before  his  marriage  with 
the  Egyptian.  Some  of  the  Achaemenidae,  however,  will  be 
sure  to  come;  they  are  such  lovers  of  horticulture  that  they 
would  not  like  to  miss  this  rare  sight.  Perhaps,  too,  I  may 
succeed  in  bringing  Croesus.  It  is  true  that  he  does  not 
understand  flowers-  or  dote  on  them  as  the  Persians  do,  but 
he  makes  amends  for  this  by  his  thorough  appreciation  of 
everything  beautiful." 

"Yes,  yes,  bring  him,  too,"  exclaimed  the  gardener.  "He 
will  really  be  grateful  to  you,  for  my  queen  of  the  night  is 
the  most  beautiful  flower  that  has  ever  bloomed  in  a  royal 
garden.  You  saw  the  bud  in  the  clear  waters  of  the  reservoir 
surrounded  by  its  green  leaves;  that  bud  will  open  into  a 
gigantic  rose,  blue  as  the  sky.  My  flower — 

The  enthusiastic  gardener  would  have  said  much  more  in 
praise  of  his  flower,  but  Boges  left  him  with  a  friendly  nod 
and  went  down  the  flight  of  stops.  A  two-wheeled  wooden 
carriage  was  waiting  for  him  there;  he  took  his  seat  by  the 
driver;  the  horses,  decked  out  with  bells  and  tassels,*  were 
urged  into  a  sharp  trot  and  quickly  brought  him  to  the  gate 
of  the  harem  garden. 

*From  pictures  in  Gosse's  "Assyria,"  pp.  224,  251,  and  Layard's 
"Nineveh  and  Its  Remains,"  p.  288,  "Nin,  and  Babylon,"  pp.  198, 
340,  450, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  235 

That  day  was  a  busy,  stirring  one- in  Cambyses'  harem. 
In  order  that  the  women  might  look  their  very  best  Boges 
had  commanded  that  they  should  all  be  taken  to  the  bath 
before  the  banquet.  He,  therefore,  went  at  once  to  that  wing 
of  the  palace  which  contained  the  baths  for  the  women. 

While  he  was-  still  at  some  distance  a  confused  noise  of 
screaming,  laughing,  chattering  and  tittering  reached  his  ears. 
In  the  broad  porch  of  the  large  bathing-room,  which  had 
been  almost  overheated,  more  than  three  hundred  women* 
were  moving  about  in  a  dense  cloud  of  steam.  The  half- 
naked  forms  floated  over  the  warm  pavement  like  a  motley 
crowd  of  phantoms.  Their  thin  silken  garments  were  wet 
through  and  clung  to  their  delicate  figures,  and  a  warm  rain 
descended  upon  them  from  the  roof  of  the  bath,  rising  up 
again  in  vapor  when  it  reached  the  floor. 

Groups  of  handsome  women,  ten  or  twenty  together,  lay 
gossiping  saucily  in  one  part  of  the  room ;  in  another  two  of 
the  king's  wives:  were  quarreling  with  naughty  children.  One 
beauty  was  screaming  at  the  top  of  her  voice  because  she 
had  received  a  blow  from  her  neighbor's  dainty  little  slipper, 
while  another  was  lying  in  lazy  contemplation,  still  as  death, 
on  the  damp,  warm  floor.  Six  Armenians  were  standing 
together  singing  a  saucy  love-song  in  their  native  language, 
with  clear-toned  voices,  and  a  little  knot  of  fair-haired  Per- 
sians were  slandering  Nitetis-  so  fearfully  that  a  bystander 
would  have  fancied  our  beautiful  Egyptian  was  some  awful 
monster,  like  those  nurses  use  to  frighten  children. 

Naked  female  slaves  moved  about  through  the  crowd,  car- 

*We  read  "Diodorus,"  xvii,  77,  that  the  king  of  Persia  had  as 
many  wives  as  there  are  days  in  the  year.  At  the  battle  if  Issus 
Alexander  the  Great  took  three  hundred  and  twenty-nine  concubines 
of  the  last  Darius  captive.  See,  also,  "Esther,"  i,  9,  18,  ii,  2,  and  fol- 
lowing verses.  "Herod.,"  iii,  68,  69,  84,  88,  and  in  many  other  pas- 
sages. But  it  must  be  observed  that  the  large  numbers  above  men- 
tioned only  refer  to  the  concubines.  After  the  insurrection  of  the 
Magi  had  been  put  down  it  was  agreed  among  the  great  Persian  lords 
that  the  king  should  only  be  allowed  to  choose  his  lawful  wives  from 
among  their  daughters.  "Herod.,"  iii,  84.  This  law  seems  to  have 
been  observed  almost  without  a  single  exception.  Later  Darius  had 
four  lawful  wives,  among  whom  Atossa  always  retained  the  highest 
place.  V.  Hammer's  opinion  (which  is  difficult  to  refute)  that  the 
permission  to  marry  four  wives,  given  by  Mahomet,  was  derived 
from  an  ancient  oriental  custom,  is  partly  grounded  on  this  fact.  V. 
Hammer,  "Geschichte  des  Osmanischen  Reiches,"  vol.  i,  p.  565, 


236  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

• 

rying  on  their  heads  well-warmed  cloths  to  throw  over  their 
mistresses.  The  cries  of  the  eunuchs  who  held  the  office  of 
doorkeepers  and  were  continually  urging  the  women  to 
greater  haste — the  screeching  calls  of  those  whose  slaves  had 
not  yet  arrived — the  penetrating  perfumes  and  the  warm  vapor, 
combined  to  produce  a  motley,  strange  and  stupefying  scene. 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  later,  however,  the  king's  wives  pre- 
sented a  very  different  spectacle. 

They  lay  like  roses  steeped  in  dew,  not  asleep,  but  quite 
still  and  dreaming,  on  soft  cushions  placed  along  the  walls  of 
an  immense  room.  The  wet  perfumes  still  lay  on  their  unclried 
and  flowing  hair,  and  nimble  female  slaves  were  busied  in 
carefully  wiping  away,  with  little  bags  made  of  soft  camel's 
hair,  the  slightest  outward  trace  of  the  moisture  which  pene- 
trated deep  into  the  pores  of  the  skin. 

Silken  coverlets  were  spread  over  their  weary,  beautitul 
limbs,  and  a  troop  of  eunuchs  took  good  care  that  the  dreamy 
repose  of  the  entire  body  should  not  be  disturbed  by  quarrel- 
some or  petulant  individuals. 

Their  efforts,  however,  were  seldom  so  successful  as  to-day, 
when  everyone  knew  that  a  disturbance  of  the  peace  would 
be  punished  by  exclusion  from  the  banquet. 

They  had  probably  been  lying  a  full  hour  in  this  dreamy 
silence  when  the  sound  of  a  gong  produced  another  trans- 
formation. 

The  reposing  figures  sprang  from  their  cushions,  a  troop 
of  female  slaves  pressed  into  the  hall,  the  beauties  were 
anointed  and  perfumed,  their  luxuriant  hair  ingeniously 
braided,  plaited,  and  adorned  with  precious  stones.  Costly 
ornaments  and  silken  and  woolen  robes,  in  all  the  colors  of 
the  rainbow,  were  brought  in — shoes  stiff  with  ricli  embroidery 
of  pearls  and  jewels  were  tied  on  their  tender  feet,  and  golden 
girdles  fastened  round  their  waists.* 

By  the  time  Boges  came  in  the  greater  number  of  the  women 
were  already  fully  adorned  in  their  costly  jewelry,  which  would 
have  represented,  probably,  when  taken  together,  the  riches 
of  a  large  kingdom. 

He  was  greeted  by  a  shrill  cry  of  joy  from  many  voices. 

*Some  kings  gave  their  wives  the  revenues  of  entire  cities  as 
"girdle-money"  (pin-money).  Xenoph.  "Anab.,"  i,  4.  Cicero,  "Verr.," 
iii,  83.  Expensive  shoes.  "Judith,"  xvi,  9.  See  "Herodotus,"  iii,  130, 
on  the  well-filled  jewel  caskets  of  the  Persian  women. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  237 

Twenty  of  the  women  joined  hands  and  danced  round  their 
smiling  keeper,  singing  a  simple  song  which  had  been  com- 
posed in  the  harem  in  praise  of  his  virtues.  On  this  day  it 
was-  customary  for  the  king  to  grant  each  of  his  wives  one 
reasonable  petition.  So,  when  the  ring  of  dancers  had  loos- 
ened hands  a  troop  of  petitioners  rushed  in  upon  Boges,  kissing 
his  hands,  stroking  his  cheeks,  whispering  in  his  ear  all  kinds 
of  requests,  and  trying  by  flattery  to  gain  his  intercession 
with  the  king.  The  woman's  tyrant  smiled  at  it  all,  stopped 
his  ears  and  pushed  them  all  back  with  jests  and  laughter, 
promising  Amytis  the  Median  that  Esther  the  Phoenician 
should  be  punished,  and  Esther  the  same  of  Amytis — that 
Parmys  should  have  a  handsomer  set  of  jewels  than  Parisatys,* 
and  Parisatys  a  more  costly  one  than  Parmys;  but,  finding 
it  impossible  to  get  rid  of  these  importunate  petitioners,  he 
blew  a  little  golden  whistle.  Its  shrill  tones  acted  like  magic 
on  the  eager  crowd;  the  raised  hands  fell  in  a  moment,  the 
little  tripping  feet  stood  still,  the  opening  lips  closed  and  the 
eager  tumult  was-  turned  into  a  dead  silence. 

Whoever  disobeyed  the  sound  of  this  little  whistle  was  cer- 
tain of  punishment.  It  was  as  important  as  the  words  "Silence, 
in  the  king's  name!"  or  the  reading  of  the  riot  act.  To-day 
it  worked  even  more  effectually  than  usual.  Boges'  self-satis- 
fied smile  showed  that  he  had  noticed  this;  he  then  favored 
the  assembly  with  a  look  expressive  of  his  contentment  with 
their  conduct,  promised  in  a  flowery  speech  to  exert  all  his 
influence  wkh  the  king  in  behalf  of  his  dear  little  white  doves, 
and  wound  t;p  by  telling  them  to  arrange  themselves  in  two 
long  rows. 

The  women  obeyed,  and  submitted  to  his  scrutiny  like 
soldiers  on  drill  or  slaves  being  examined  by  their  buyer. 

With  the  dress-  and  ornaments  of  most  he  was  satisfied, 
ordering,  however,  to  one  a  little  mere  rouge — to  another 
a  little  white  powder  to  subdue  a  too  healthy  color — here  a 
different  arrangement  of  the  hair — there  a  deeper  tinge  to 
the  eyebrows  or  more  pains  to  be  taken  in  anointing  the  lips. 

When  this  was  over  he  left  the  hall  and  went  to  Phaedime, 
who,  as  one  of  the  king's  lawful  wives,  had  a  private  room, 
separated  from  those  allotted  to  the  concubines. 

This  name  signifies  "of  the  race  of  the  Peris."  According  to 
Rogge  it  is  really  Pairikazana,  Pairikagaona  or  Pairikanafa. 


238  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

This  former  favorite — this  humbled  daughter  of  the  Achae- 
menidae — had  been  expecting  him  already  some  time. 

She  was  magnificently  dressed,  and  almost  overloaded  with 
jewels.  A  thick  veil  of  gauze  inwrought  with  gold  hung  from 
her  little  tiara,  and  interlaced  with  this  was  the  blue-and-white 
band  of  the  Achaemenidae.  There  could  be  no  question  that 
she  was  beautiful,  but  her  figure  was  already  too  strongly 
developed,  a  frequent  result  of  the  lazy  harem  life  among 
eastern  women.  Fair,  golden  hair,  interwoven  with  little  sil- 
ver chains  and  gold  pieces,  welled  out  almost  too  abundantly 
from  beneath  her  tiara  and  was  smoothed  over  her  white 
temples'. 

She  sprang  forward  to  meet  Boges,  trembling  with  eager- 
ness, caught  a  hasty  glance  at  herself  in  the  looking-glass, 
and  then,  fixing  her  eyes  on  the  eunuch,  asked,  impetuously: 
"Are  you  pleased  with  me?  Will  he  admire  me?" 

Boges  smiled  his  old,  eternal  smile,  and  answered:  "You 
always  please  me,  my  golden  peacock,  and  the  king  would 
admire  you,  too,  if  he  could  s-ee  you  as  you  were  a  moment 
ago.  You  were  really  beautiful  when  you  called  out,  'Will 
he  admire  me?'  for  passion  had  turned  your  blue  eyes  black 
as  night,  and  your  lip  was  curled  with  hatred  so  as  to  show 
two  rows  of  teeth  white  as  the  snow  on  the  Demawend!" 

Phaedime  was  flattered  and  forced  her  face  once  more  into 
the  admired  expression,  saying:  "Then  take  us  at  once  to 
the  banquet,  for  I  know  my  eyes  will  be  darker  and  more 
brilliant  and  my  teeth  will  gleam  more  brightly  when  I  see 
that  Egyptian  girl  sitting  where  I  ought  to  sit." 

"She  will  not  be  allowed  to  sit  there  long." 

"What!  is  your  plan  likely  to  succeed/then?  Oh,  Boges, 
do  not  hide  it  any  longer  from  me — I  will  be  as  silent  as  the 
grave — I  will  help  you — I  will " 

"No,  I  cannot,  I  dare  not  tell  you  about  it,  but  this  much 
I  will  say  in  order  to  sweeten  this  bitter  evening;  we  have 
dug  the  pit  for  our  enemy,  and  if  my  golden  Phaedime  will 
only  do  what  I  tell  her,  I  hope  to  give  her  back  her  old  place, 
and  not  only  that,  but  even  a  higher  one." 

"Tell  me  what  I  am  to  do;  I  am  ready  for  anything  and 
everything." 

"That  was  well  and  bravely  spoken;  like  a  true  lioness. 
If  you  obey  me  we  must  succeed;  and  the  harder  the  task 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  233 

the  higher  the  reward.  Don't  dispute  what  I  am  going  to 
say,  for  we  have  not  a  minute  to  lose.  Take  off  all  your 
useless  ornaments  and  only  wear  the.  chain  the  king  gave 
you  on  your  marriage.  Put  on  a  dark,  simple  dress  instead 
of  this  bright  one;  and  when  you  have  prostrated  yourself 
before  Kassandane,  bow  down  humbly  before  the  Egyptian 
princess,  too." 

"Impossible!" 

"I  will  not  be  contradicted.  Take  off  those  ornaments  at 
once,  I  entreat  you.  There,  that  is  right.  We  cannot  succeed 
unless  you  obey  me.  How  white  your  neck  is.  The  fairest 
peri  would  look  dark  by  your  side." 

-But " 

"When  your  turn  conies  to  ask  a  favor  of  the  king  tell  him 
you  have  no  wishes  now  that  the  sun  of  your  life  has  with- 
drawn his  light." 

"Yes,  that  I  will  do." 

"When  your  father  asks  after  your  welfare  you  must  weep." 

"I  will  do  that,  too/' 

"And  so  that  all  the  Achaemenidae  can  see  that  you  are 
weeping." 

"That  will  be  a  fearful  humiliation!" 

"Not  at  all ;  only  a  means  by  which  to  rise  the  more  surely. 
Wash  the  red  color  from  your  cheeks  and  put  on  white  pow- 
der. Make  yourself  pale — paler  still." 

"Yes,  I  shall  need  that  to  hide  my  blushes.  Boges,  you 
are  asking  something  fearful  of  me,  but  I  will  obey  you  if 
you  will  only  give  me  a  reason." 

"Girl,  bring  your  mistress'  new  dark-green  robe." 

"I  shall  look  like  a  slave." 

"True  grace  is  lovely  even  in  rags." 

"The  Egyptian  will  completely  eclipse  me." 

"Yes,  everyone  must  see  that  you  have  not  the  slightest 
intention  of  comparing  yourself  with  her.  Then  people  will 
say:  'Would  not  Phaedime  be  as  beautiful  as  this  proud 
woman,  if  she  had  taken  the  same  pains  to  make  herself  so?' " 

"But  I  cannot  bow  down  before  her." 

"You  must." 

"You  only  want  to  humble  and  ruin  me." 

"Short-sighted  fool !  listen  to  my  reasons,  and  obey.  I  want 
especially  to  excite  the  Achaemenidae  against  our  enemy. 


240  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

How  it  will  enrage  your  grandfather  Intaphernes  and  your 
father  Otanes  to  see  you  in  the  dust  before  a  stranger!  Their 
wounded  pride  will  bring  them  over  to  our  side,  and  if  they 
are  too  'noble,'  as  they  call  it,  to  undertake  anything  them- 
selves against  a  woman,  still  they  will  be  more  likely  to  help 
than  to  hinder  us,  if  I  should  need  their  assistance.  Then, 
when  the  Egyptian  is  ruined,  if  you  have  done  as  I  wish,  the 
king  will  remember  your  sad,  pale  face,  your  humility  and 
forgetfulness  of  self.  The  Achaemenidae,  and  even  the  Magi, 
will  beg  him  to  take  a  queen  from  his  own  family ;  and  where 
in  all  Persia  is  there  a  woman  who  can  boast  of  better  birth 
than  you?  Who  else  can  wear  the  royal  purple  but  my  bright 
bird  of  paradise,  my  beautiful  rose  Phaedime?  With  such 
a  prize  in  prospect  we  must  no  more  fear  a  little  humiliation 
than  a  man  who  is  learning  to  ride  fears  a  fall  from  his 
horse." 

And  she,  princess  as  she  was,  answered:  "I  will  obey  you." 
"Then  we  are  certain  of  victory,"  said  the  eunuch.  "There, 
now  your  eyes  are  flashing  darkly  again,  as  I  like  to  see  them, 
my  queen.  And  so  Cambyses  shall  see  you  when  the  tender 
flesh  of  the  Egyptian  shall  have  become  food  for  dogs  and 
the  birds  of  the  air,  and  when,  for  the  first  time  after  long 
months  of  absence  I  bring  him  once  more  to  the  door  of 
your  apartments.  Here,  Armorges!  tell  the  rest  of  the  women 
to  get  ready  and  enter  their  litters.  I  will  go  on  and  be  there 
to  show  them  their  places1." 


The  great  banqueting-hall  was  bright  as  day — even  brighter 
— from  the  light  of  thousands  of  candles,  whose  rays  were 
reflected  in  the  gold  plates  forming  the  paneling  of  the  walls. 
A  table  of  interminable  length  stood  in  the  middle  of  the 
hall,  overloaded  with  gold  and  silver  cups,  plates,  dishes, 
bowls,  jugs,  goblets-,  ornaments  and  incense-altars,  and  looked 
like  a  splendid  scene  from  fairy-land. 

"The  king  will  soon  be  here,"  called  out  the  head  steward 
of  the  table,  one  of  the  great  court  lords,  to  the  king's  cup- 
bearer, who  was  a  member  of  the  royal  family.  "Are  all  the 
wine-jugs  full,  has  the  wine  been  tasted,  are  the  goblets 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  24l 

fanged  in  order,  and  the  skins  sent  by  Polykrates,  have  they 
been  emptied?" 

"Yes,"  answered  the  cup-bearer,  "everything  is  ready,  and 
that  Chian  wine  is  better  than  any  I  ever  tasted;  indeed,  in 
my  opinion,  even  the  Syrian*  is  not  to  be  compared  to  it. 
Only  taste  it." 

So  saying  he  took  a  graceful  little  golden  goblet  from  the 
table  in  one  hand,  raised  a  wine-pitcher  of  the  same  costly 
metal  with  the  other,  swung  the  latter  high  into  the  air  and 
poured  the  wine  so  cleverly  into  the  narrow  neck  of  the  little 
vessel  that  not  a  drop  was  lost,  though  the  liquid  formed  a 
wide  curve  in  its-  descent.  He  then  presented  the  goblet  to 
the  head  steward  with  the  tips  of  his  fingers,  bowing  grace- 
fully as  he  did  so.f 

The  latter  sipped  the  delicious  wine,  testing  its  flavor  with 
great  deliberation,  and  said,  on  returning  the  cup:  "I  agree 
with  you;  it  is  indeed  a  noble  wine,  and  tastes  twice  as  well 
when  presented  with  such  inimitable  grace.  Strangers  are 
quite  right  in  saying  that  there  are  no  cup-bearers  like  the 
Persian." 

"Thanks  for  this  praise,"  replied  the  other,  kissing  his 
friend's  forehead.  "Yes,  I  am  proud  of  my  office,  and  it  is 
one  which  the  king  only  gives  to  his  friends.  Still,  it  is  a 
great  plague  to  have  to  stay  so  long  in  this  hot,  suffocating 
Babylon.  Shall  we  ever  be  off  for  the  summer  to  Ekbatana 
or  Pasargadae?" 

"I  was  talking  to  the  king  about  it  to-day.  He  had  intended 
not  to  leave  before  the  Massagetan  war,  and  to  go  straight 
from  Babylon  into  the  field,  but  to-day's  embassy  has  changed 
matters;  it  is  probable  that  there  may  be  no  war,  and  then 
we  shall  go  to  Susa  three  days  after  the  king's  marriage — 
that  is,  in  one  week  from  the  present  time." 

"To  Susa?"  cried  the  cup-bearer.  "It's-  very  little  cooler 
there  than  here,  and,  besides,  the  old  Memnon's  castle  is  being 
rebuilt"! 

*The  Chian  wine  was  the  most  esteemed  by  the  Greeks.  The  wine 
of  Byblus  (Gebal)  in  Syria  was  celebrated  on  acount  of  its  exquisite 
flavor. 

fXenoph.  "Cyrop.,"  i,  3,  8,  praises  the  Persian  cup-bearers  highly  for 
-,  their  dexterity  and  grace. 

\      JThe  citadel  of  Susa  was  called  by  the  ancients,  and  also  by  Ktesies, 
v.  who  lived  a  long  time  at  the  Persian  court  as  physician,  the  castle  of 


242  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"The  satrap  of  Susa  has  just  brought  word  that  the  new 
palace  is  finished,  and  that  nothing  so  brilliant-  has  ever  been 
seen.  Directly  Cambyses  heard  it  he  said:  'Then  we  will 
start  for  Susa  three  days  after  our  marriage.  I  should  like 
to  show  the  Egyptian  princess  that  we  understand  the  art 
of  building  as  well  as  her  own  ancestors.  She  is  accustomed 
to  hot  weather  on  the  Nile,  and  will  not  find  our  beautiful 
Susa  too  w-arrn.'  The  king  seems  wonderfully  fond  of  this 
woman." 

"He  does,  indeed!  All  other  women  have  become  perfectly 
indifferent  to  him,  and  he  means  soon  to  make  her  his  queen." 

"That  is  unjust;  Phaedime,  as  a  daughter  of  the  Achae- 
menidae,  has  an  older  and  better  right." 

"No  doubt;  but  whatever  the  king  wishes  must  be  right." 

"The  ruler's  will  is  the  will  of  God." 

"Well  said.  A  true  Persian  will  kiss  his  king's  hand  even 
when  dripping  with  the  blood  of  his  own  child." 

"Cambyses  ordered  my  brother's  execution,  but  I  bear  him 
no  more  ill-will  for  it  than  I  should  the  gods  for  depriving 
me  of  my  parents4.  Here,  you  fellows,  draw  the  curtains  back; 
the  guests  are  coming.-  Look  sharp,  you  dogs,  and  do  your 
duty!  Farewell,  Artabazos,  we  shall  have  warm  work  to- 
night." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

The  principal  steward  of  the  banquet  went  forward  to  meet 
the  guests  as  they  entered,  and,  assisted  by  other  noble  staff- 
bearers  (chamberlains  and  masters  of  the  ceremonies),  led 
them  to  their  appointed  places. 

When  they  were  all  seated  a  flourish  of  trumpets  announced 
that  the  king  was  near.  As  he  entered  the  liall  everyone 
rose,  and  the  multitude  received  him  with  a  thundering  shout 
of  "Victory  to  the  king!"  again  and  again  repeated. 

The  way  to  his  seat  was  marked  by  a  purple  Sardian  car- 

Memnon.  Ktesias,  in  "Diodor.,"  ii,  22.  "Herod.,"  vii,  151,  v.  53,  54. 
Aeschylus  in  "Strabo,"  p.  718.  In  Fr.  Jacobs'  "Vermischten-Schriften" 
the  best  remarks  on  Memnon  as  a  mythical  character  are  to  be  found. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  243 

pet,  only  to  be  trodden  by  himself  and  Kassandane.  His 
blind  mother,  led  by  Croesus,  went  first  and  took  her  seat 
at  the  head  of  the  table  on  a  throne  somewhat  higher  than 
the  golden  chair  for  Cambyses*  which  stood  by  it  The  king's 
lawful  wives  sat  on  his  left  hand;  Nitetis  next  to  him,  then 
Atossa,  and  by  her  side"  the  pale,  plainly  dressed  Phaedime; 
next  to  this  last  wife  of  Cambyses  sat  Boges,  the  eunuch. 
Then  came  the  high-priest  Oropastes,  some  of  the  principal 
Magi,  the  satraps  of  various  provinces  (among  them  the  Jew 
Belteshazzar),  and  a  number  of  Persians,  Medes  and  eunuchs, 
all  holding  high  offices  under  the  crown. 

Bartja  sat  at  the  king's  right  hand,  and  after  him  Croesus, 
Hystaspes,  Gobryas,  Araspes  and  others  of  the  Achaemenidae, 
according  to  their  rank  and.  age.  Of  the  concubines,  the 
greater  number  sat  at  the  foot  of  the  table ;  s-ome  stood  oppo- 
site to  Cambyses  and  enlivened  the  banquet  by  songs  and 
music.  A  number  of  eunuchs  stood  behind  them,  whose 
duty  it  was  to  see  that  they  did  not  raise  their  eyes  toward 
the  men.f 

Cambyses'  first  glance  was  bestowed  on  Nitetis1;  she  sat 
by  him  in  all  the  splendor  and  dignity  of  a  queen,  but  look- 
ing very,  very  pale  in  her  new  purple  robes. 

Their  eyes  met,  and  Cambyses  felt  that  such  a  look  could 
only  come  from  one  who  loved  him  very  dearly.  But  his 
own  love  told  him  that  something  had  troubled  her.  There 
was  a  sad  seriousness  about  her  mouth,  and  a  slight  cloud, 
which  only  he  could  see,  seemed  to  veil  the  usually  calm, 
clear  and  cheerful  expression  of  her  eyes.  "I  will  ask  her 
afterward  what  has  happened,"  thought  he,  "but  it  will  not 
do  to  let  my  subjects  see  how  much  I  love  this  girl." 

He  kissed  his  mother,  sister,  brother  and  his  nearest  rela- 
tions on  the  forehead — said  a  short  prayer  thanking  the  gods 
for  their  mercies  and  entreating  a  happy  new  year  for  him- 
self and  the  Persians — named  the  immense  sum  he  intended 
to  present  to  his  countrymen  on  this  day,  and  then  called  on 
the  staff-bearers  to  bring  the  petitioners  before  his  face  who 
I  hoped  to  obtain  some  reasonable  request  from  the  king  on 
<  this  day  of  grace. 

j    *Plutarch,  "Artaxerxes,"  5. 

,     f'Herod.,"  ix,  110,  111.    "Book  of  Esther,"  i,  10, 11.  Brisson.  "Regn. 
Persarum  Princip."  i,  c,  103. 


244  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

As  every  petitioner  had  been  obliged  to  lay  his  request 
before  the  principal  staff-bearer  the  day  before,  in  order  to 
ascertain  whether  it  was  admissible,  they  all  received  satis- 
factory answers.  The  petitions1  of  the  women  had  been  inquired 
into  by  the  eunuchs  in  the  same  manner,  and  they,  too,  were 
now  conducted  before  their  lord  and  master  by  Boges,  Kas-- 
sandane  alone  remaining  seated. 

The  long  procession  was  opened  by  Nitetis  and  Atossa, 
and  the  two  princesses  were  immediately  followed  by  Phaedime 
and  another  beauty.  The  latter  was  magnificently  dressed 
and  had  been  paired  with  Phaedime  by  Boges,  in  order  to 
make  the  almost  poverty-stricken  simplicity  of  the  fallen  favor- 
ite more  apparent. 

Intaphernes  and  Otanes  looked  as  annoyed  as  Boges  had 
expected,  on  seeing  their  grandchild  and  daughter  so  pale 
and  in  such  miserable  array  in  the  midst  of  all  this  splendor 
and  magnificence. 

Cambyses  had  had  experience  of  Phaedime's  former  extrav- 
agance in  matters  of  dress,  and  when  he  saw  her  standing 
before  him  so  plainlv  dressed  and  so  pale,  looked  both  angry 
and  astonished.  His  brow  darkened,  and  as  she  bent  low 
before  him  he  asked  her,  in  an  angry  and  tyrannical  tone: 
"What  is  the  meaning  of  this  beggarly  dress  at  my  table,  on 
the  day  set  apart  in  my  honor?  Have_you  forgotten  that  in 
our  country  it  is  the  custom  never  to  appear  unadorned  before 
the  king?  Verily,  if  it  were  not  my  birthday,  and  if  I  did  not 
owe  you  some  consideration  as  the  daughter  of  our  dearest 
kinsman,  I  should  order  the  eunuchs  to  take  you  back  to 
the  harem,  that  you  might  have  time  to  think  over  your  con- 
duct in  solitude." 

These  words  rendered  the  mortified  woman's  task  much 
easier.  She  began  to  weep  loud  and  bitterly,  raising  her 
hands  and  eyes  to  her  angry  lord  in  such  a  beseeching  man- 
ner that  his  anger  was  changed  into  compassion  and  he  raised 
her  from  the  ground  with  the  question:  "Have  you  a  petition 
to  ask  of  me?" 

"What  can  I  find  to  wish  for  now  that  the  sun  of  my  life 
has  withdrawn  his  light?"  was  her  faltering  answer,  hindered 
by  sobs. 

Cambyses  shrugged  his  shoulders-  and  asked  again:  "Is 
there  nothing,  then,  that  you  wish  for?  I  used  to  be  able  to 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  245 

dry  your  tears  with  presents;  ask  me  for  some  golden  com- 
fort to-day." 

"Phaedime  has  nothing  left  to  wish  for  now.  For  whom 
can  she  put  on  jewels  when  her  king,  her  husband,  withdraws 
the  light  of  his  countenance?'' 

"Then  I  can  do  nothing  for  you."  exclaimed  Cambyses, 
turning  away  angrily  from  the  kneeling  woman. 

Boges  had  been  quite  right  in  advising  Phaedime  to  paint 
herself  with  white,  for  underneath  the  pale  color  her  cheeks 
were  burning  with  shame  and  anger.  But,  in  spite  of  all, 
she  controlled  her  passionate  feelings,  made  the  same  deep 
obeisance  to  Nitetis  as  to  the  queen  mother  and  allowed  her 
tears  to  flow  fast  and  freely  in  sight  of  all  the  Achaemenidae. 

Otanes  and  Intaphernes  could  scarcely  suppress  their  indig- 
nation at  seeing  their  daughter  and  grandchild  thus  humbled, 
and  many  an  Achaemenidae  looked  on,  feeling  deep  sym- 
pathy with  the  unhappy  Phaedime  and  a  hidden  grudge 
against  the  favored,  beautiful  stranger. 

The  formalities  were  at  last  at  an  end  and  the  feast  began. 
Just  before  the  king,  in  a  golden  basket,  and  gracefully  bor- 
dered round  with  other  fruits,  lay  a  gigantic  pomegranate,  as 
large  as  a  child's  head.* 

Cambyses  noticed  it  now  for  the  first  time,  examined  its 
enormous  size  and  rare  beauty  with  the  eye  of  a  connoisseur, 
and  said:  "Who  grew  this  wronderful  pomegranate?" 

"Thy  servant  Oropastes,"  answered  the  chief  of  the  Magi, 
with  a  low  obeisance.  "For  many  years  I  have  studied  the 
art  of  gardening,  and  have  ventured  to  lay  this,  the  most 
beautiful  fruit  of  my  labors,  at  the  feet  of  my  king."f 

"I  owe  you  thanks,"  cried  the  king.  "My  friends,  this 
pomegranate  will  assist  me  in  the  choice  of  a  governor  at 
home  when  we  go  out  to  war;  for,  by  Mithras,  the  man  who 
can  cherish  and  foster  a  little  tree  so  carefully  will  do  greater 
things  than  these.  What  a  splendid  fruit!  Surely  its  like 

*The  pishkesh,  or  gift,  which  the  Persians  of  the  present  day  are  in 
the  habit  of  presenting  to  their  guests  usually  consists  of  sweets  or 
baskets  of  fruit  arranged  in  the  most  graceful  manner.  Brugsch,  in 
his  "Reise  Nach  Persien,"  praises  very  highly  the  good  taste  with 
which  these  baskets  are  arranged. 

tThe  story  which  follows  in  the  text  is  told  by  Aelian  ("V.  H.,"  i,  23) 
of  Artaxerxes  and  a  certain  Omises. 


246  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

was  never  seen  before.  I  thank  you  again,  Oropastes,  and, 
as  the  thanks-  of  a  king  must  never  consist  of  empty  words 
alone,  I  name  you  at  once  vicegerent  of  my  entire  kingdom, 
in  case  of  war.  For  we  shall  not  dream  away  our  time  much 
longer  in  this  idle  rest,  my  friends.  A  Persian  gets  low-spirited 
without  the  joys  of  war." 

A  murmur  of  applause  ran  through  the  ranks  of  the  Achae- 
menidae,  and  fresh  shouts  of  "Victory  to  the  king"  resounded 
through  the  hall.  Their  anger  on  account  of  the  humiliation 
of  a  woman  was  quickly  forgotten;  thoughts  of  coming  bat- 
tles, undying  renown  and  conqueror's  laurels  to  be  won  by 
deeds  of  arms,  and  recollections  of  their  former  mighty  deeds 
raised  the  spirits  of  the  revelers. 

The  king  himself  was  more  moderate  than  usual  to-day, 
but  he  encouraged  his  guests  to  drink,  enjoying  their  noisy 
merriment  and  overflowing  mirth,  taking,  however,  far  more 
pleasure  still  in  the  fascinating  beauty  of  the  Egyptian  princess, 
who  sat  at  his  side,  paler  than  usual,  and  thoroughly  exhausted 
by  the  exertions  of  the  morning  and  the  unaccustomed  weight 
of  the  high  tiara.  He  had  never  felt  so  happy  as  cvn  this  day. 
What,  indeed,  could  he  wish  for  more  than  he  already  pos- 
sessed? Had  not  the  gods  given  him  everything  that  a  man 
could  desire?  and,  over  and  above  all  this,  had  they  not  flung 
into  his  lap  the  precious  gift  of  love?  His  usual  inflexibility 
seemed  to  have  changed  into  benevolence  and  his  stern  sever- 
ity into  good-nature  as  he  turned  to  his  brother  Bartja  with 
the  words:  "Come,  brother,  have  you  forgotten  my  promise? 
Don't  you  know  that  to-day  you  are  sure  of  gaining  the  dear- 
est wish  of  your  heart  from  me?  That's  right,  drain  the 
goblet  and  take  courage!  but  do  not  ask  anything  small,  for 
I  am  in  the  mood  to  give  largely  to-day.  Ah!  it  is  a  s-ecret! 
Come  nearer,  then.  I  am  really  curious  to  know  what  the 
most  fortunate  youth  in  my  entire  kingdom  can  long  for  so 
much  that  he  blushes  like  a  girl  when  his  wish  is  spoken  of." 

Bartja,  whose  cheeks  were  really  glowing  from  agitation, 
bent  his  head  close  to  his  brother's  ear  and  whispered  shortly 
the  story  of  hi*  love.  Sappho's  father  had  helped  to  defend 
his  native  town,  Phocaea,*  against  the  hosts  of  Cyrus,  and  this 
fact  the  boy  cleverly  brought  forward,  speaking  of  the  girl 

*See  note  p.  13. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  247 

he  loved  as  the  daughter  of  a  Greek  warrior  of  noble  birth. 
In  so  saying  he  spoke  the  truth,  but  at  the  same  time  he  sup- 
pressed the  fact*  that  this  very  father  had  acquired  great 
riches  by  mercantile  undertakings.  He  then  told  his-  brother 
how  charming,  cultivated  and  loving  his  Sappho  was,  and 
was  just  going  to  call  on  Croesus  for  a  confirmation  of  his 
words  when  Cambyses  interrupted  him  by  kissing  his  forehead 
and  saying:  "You  need  say  no  more,  brother;  do  what 
your  heart  bids  you.  I  know  the  power  of  love,  too,  and  I  will 
help  you  to  gain  our  mother's  cons-ent." 

Bartja  threw  himself  at  his  brother's  feet,  overcome  with 
gratitude  and  joy,  but  Cambyses  raised  him  kindly,  and,  look- 
ing especially  at  Nitetis  and  Kassandane,  exclaimed:  "Listen, 
my  dear  ones;  the  stem  of  Cyrus  is  going  to  blossom  afresh, 
for  our  brother  Bartja  has-  resolved  to  put  an  end  to  his  single 
life  so  displeasing  to  the  gocls.f  In  a  few  days  the  young 
lover  will  leave  us  for  your  country,  Nitetis,  and  will  bring 
back  another  jewel  from  the  shores  of  the  Nile  to  our  moun- 
tain home." 

"What  is  the  matter,  sister?"  cried  Atossa,  before  her  brother 
had  finished  speaking.  Nitetis  had  fainted,  and  Atossa  »was 
sprinkling  her  forehead  with  wine  as  she  lay  in  her  arms. 

"What  was  it?"  asked  the  blind  Kassandane,  when  Nitetis 
had  awakened  to  consciousness  a  few  moments  later. 

"The  joy — the  happiness- — Tachot,"  faltered  Nitetis. 

Cambyses,  as  well  as  his  sister,  had  sprung  to  the  fainting 
girl's  help.  When  she  had  recovered  consciousness  he  asked 
her  to  take  some  wine  to  revive  her  completely,  gave  her 
the  cup  with  his  own  hand,  and  then  went  on  at  the  point 
at  which  he  had  left  off  in  his  account:  "Bartja  is-  going 
to  your  own  country,  my  wife— to  Naukratis  on  the  Nile — 
to  fetch  thence  the  granddaughter  of  a  certain  Rhodopis  and 

*The  Persians  were  forbidden  by  law  to  contract  debts,  because 
debtors  were  necessarily  led  to  say  much  that  was  untrue.  "Herod.," 
i,  138.  For  this  reason  they  held  all  money  transactions  in  contempt, 
such  occupations  being  also  very  uncongenial  to  their  military  tastes. 
They  despised  commerce  and  abandoned  it  to  the  conquered  nations. 

tThe  Persians  were  commanded  by  their  religion  to  marry,  and  the 
unmarried  were  held  up  to  ridicule.  "Vendid.,"  iv,  "Fargard,"  130. 
The  highest  duty  of  man  was  to  create  and  promote  life,  and  to  have 
many  children  was,  therefore,  considered  praiseworthy.  "Herod.,"  1, 
136. 


248  AN  EGYPTIAN  'PRINCESS. 

daughter  of  a  noble  warrior,  a  native  of  the  brave  town  of 
Phocaea,  as  his  wife." 

"What  was  that?"  cried  the  blind  queen-mother. 

"What  is  the  matter  with  you?"  exclaimed  Atossa  again, 
in  an  anxious,  almost  reproachful  tone. 

"Nitetis!"  cried  Croesus,  admonishingly.  But  the  warning 
came  too  late;  the  cup  which  her  royal  lover  had  given  her 
slipped  from  her  hands  and  fell  ringing  onto  the  floor.  All 
eyes  were  fixed  on  the  king's  features1  in  anxious  suspense. 
He  had  sprung  from  his  seat,  pale  as  death;  his  lips  trembled 
and  his  fist  was  clinched. 

Nitetis  looked  up  at  her  lover  imploringly,  but  he  was  afraid 
of  meeting  those  wonderful,  fascinating  eyes,  and  turned  his 
head  away,  saying,  in  a  hoarse  voice:  "Take  the  women  back 
to  their  apartments1,  Boges.  I  have  seen  enough  of  them — 
let  us  begin  our  drinking-bout — good-night,  my  mother;  take 
care  how  you  nourish  vipers  with  your  heart's  blood.  Sleep 
well,  Egyptian,  and  pray  to  the  gods  to  give  you  a  more 
equal  power  of  dissembling  your  feelings.  To-morrow,  my 
friends,  we  will  go  out  hunting.  Here,  cup-bearer,  give  me 
wine!  fill  the  large  goblet,  but  taste  it  well — yes,  well — for 
to-day  I  am  afraid  of  poison;  to-day  for  the  first  time.  Do 
you  hear,  Egyptian?  I  am  afraid  of  poison!  and  every  child 
knows — ah — ha — that  all  the  poison,  as  well  as  the  medicine,* 
comes  from  Egypt." 

Nitetis4  left  the  hall,  she  hardly  knew  how — more  stagger- 
ing than  walking.  Boges  accompanied  her,  telling  the  bear- 
ers to  make  haste. 

When  they  reached  the  hanging-gardens  he  gave  her  up 
to  the  care  of  the  eunuch  in, attendance,  and  took  his  leave, 
not  respectfully,  as  usual,  but  chuckling,  rubbing  his  hands 
and  speaking  in  an  intimate  and  confidential  tone:  "Dream 
about  the  handsome  Bartja  and  his  Egyptian  lady-love,  my 

*The  reputation  of  Egypt  for  medicines  was  known  even  to  Homer. 
The  number  of  different  drugs  mentioned  in  the  inscriptions  on  the 
walls  of  the  temple  laboratories,  especially  at  Dendera  and  Edfpo 
(published  by  Dumichen),  and  in  the  medical  papyri,  is  surprising. 
"Odyssey,"  iv,  299.  "Pliny,"  xxv,  2,  mentions  the  great  number  of  use- 
ful herbs  which  flourished  on  the  shores  of  the  Nile.  Neither  were  the 
Egyptian  poisons  less  celebrated,  especially  the  strychnus.  "Plin.," 
xxi,  15.  The  Halicacadon,  called  by  Homer  ("Odyss.,"  304)  /iafa>, 
was  a  very  strong  Egyptian  poison. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  249 

white  Nile  kitten !  Haven't  you  any  message  for  the  beautiful 
boy  whose  love-story  frightened  you  so  terribly?  Think  a 
little.  Poor  Boges  will  very  gladly  play  the  go-between;  the 
poor,  despised  Boges  wishes  you  so  well — the  humble  Boges 
will  be  so  sorry  when  he  sees  the  proud  palm-tree  from  Sais 
cut  down.  Boges  is  a  prophet;  he  foretells  you  a  speedy  re- 
turn home  to  Egypt,  or  a  quiet  bed  in  the  black  earth  in  Baby- 
lon, and  the  kind  Boges  wishes  you  a  peaceful  sleep.  Farewell, 
my  broken  flower,  my  gay,  bright  viper,  wounded  by  its  own 
sting,  my  pretty  fir-cone,  fallen  from  the  tall  pine  tree !" 

"How  dare  you  speak  in  this  impudent  manner?"  said  the 
indignant  princess. 

"Thank  you,"  answered  the  wretch,  smiling. 

"I  shall  complain  of  your  conduct,"  threatened  Nitetis. 

"You  are  very  amiable,"  answered  Boges. 

"Go  out  of  my  sight!"  she  cried. 

"I  will  obey  your  kind  and  gentle  hints,"  he  answered,  softly, 
as  if  whispering  words  of  love  in  her  ear. 

She  started  back  in  disgust  and  fear  at  these  scornful  words ; 
she  saw  how  full  of  terror  they  were  for  her,  turned  her  back 
on  him  and  went  quickly  into  the  house,  but  his  voice  rang 
after  her:  "Don't  forget  me,  my  lovely  queen,  think  of  me 
now  and  then;  for  everything  that  happens  in  the  next  few 
days  will  be  a  keepsake  from  the  poor,  despised  Boges." 

As  soon  as  she  had  disappeared  he  changed  his  tone,  and 
commanded  the  sentries  in  the  severest  and  most  tyrannical 
manner  to  keep  a  strict  watch  over  the  hanging-gardens. 
"Certain  death,"  said  he,  "to  whichever  of  you  allows  anyone 
but  myself  to  enter  these  gardens.  No  one,  remember — no 
one — and  least  of  all  messengers  from  the  queen-mother, 
Atossa  or  any  of  the  great  people,  may  venture  to  set  foot  on 
these  steps.  If  Croesus  or  Oropastes  should  wish  to  speak  to 
the  Egyptian  princess  refuse  them  decidedly.  Do  you  under- 
stand? I  repeat  it,  whoever  is  begged  or  bribed  into  dis- 
obedience will  not  see  the  light  of  to-morrow's  sun.  Nobody 
may  enter  these  gardens  without  express  permission  from  my 
own  mouth.  I  think  you  know  me.  Here,  take  these  gold 
staters,  your  work  will  be  heavier  now ;  but  remember,  I  swear 
by  Mithras  not  to  spare  one  of  you  who  is  careless  or  dis- 
obedient." 

The  men  made  a  due  obeisance  and  determined  to  obev: 


250  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

they  knew  that  Boges'  threats  were  never  meant  in  joke,  and 
fancied  something  great  must  be  coming  to  pass,  as  the  stingy 
eunuch  never  spent  his  staters  without  good  reason. 

Boges  was  carried  back  to  the  banquet-hall  in  the  same 
litter  which  had  brought  Nitetis  away. 

The  king's  wives  had  left;  but  the  concubines  were  still 
standing  in  there  appointed  place,  singing  their  monotonous 
songs,  though  quite  unheard  by  the  uproarious  men. 

The  drinkers  had  already  long  forgotten  the  fainting  woman. 
The  uproar  and  confusion  rose  with  every  fresh  wine-cup. 
They  forgot  the  dignity  of  the  place  where  they  were  assembled 
and  the  presence  of  their  mighty  ruler. 

They  shouted  in  their  drunken  joy;  warriors  embraced  one 
another  with  a  tenderness  only  excited  by  wine;  here  and 
there  a  ndVice  was  carried  away  in  the  arms-  of  a  pair  of  sturdy 
attendants,  while  an  old  hand  at  the  work  would  seize  a  wine 
jug  instead  of  a  goblet  and  drain  it  at  a  draught  amid  the 
cheers  of  the  lookers-on. 

The  king  sat  at  the  head  of  the  table,  pale  as  death,  staring 
into  the  wine-cup  as  if  unconscious  of  what  was  going  on 
around  him.  But  at  the  sight  of  his  brother  his  fist  clinched. 

He  would  neither  speak  to  him  nor  answer  his  questions. 
The  longer  he  sat  there  gazing  into  vacancy  the  firmer  became 
his  conviction  that  Nitetis  had  deceived  him;  that  she  had 
pretended  to  love  him  while  her  heart  really  belonged  to  Bartja. 
How  shamefully  they  had  made  sport  of  him!  How  deeply 
rooted  must  have  been  the  faithlessness  of  this  clever  hypocrite, 
if  the  mere  news  that  his  brother  loved  some  one  else  could 
not  only  destroy  all  her  powers  of  dissimulation,  but  actually 
deprive  her  of  consciousness! 

When  Nitetis  left  the  hall  Otanes,  the  father  of  Phaedime, 
had  called  out:  "The  Egyptian  women  seem  to  take  great 
interest  in  the  love  affairs  of  their  brothers-in-law.  The  Per- 
sian women  are  not  so  generous  with  their  feelings;  they 
keep  them  for  their  husbands." 

Cambyses  was  too  proud  to  let  it  be  seen  that  he  had  heard 
these  words;  like  the  ostrich,  he  feigned  deafness  and  blind- 
ness in  order  not  to  seem  aware  of  the  looks  and  murmurs  of 
his  guests,  which  all  went  to  prove  that  he  had  been  deceived. 

Bartja  could  have  had  no  share  in  her  perfidy;  she  had 
love<J  this  handsome  youth,  and  perhaps-  the  more  because 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  251 

she  had  not  been  able  to  hope  for  a  return  of  her  love.  If 
he  had  had  the  slightest  suspicion  of  his  brother  he  would 
have  killed  him  on  the  spot.  Bartja  was  certainly  innocent 
of  any  share  in  the  deception  and  in  his  brother's  misery,  but 
still  he  was  the  cause  of  all;  so  the  old  grudge,  which  had  only 
just  been  allowed  to  slumber,  awoke  again;  and,  as  a  relapse 
is  always  more  dangerous  than  the  original  illness,  the  newly 
roused  anger  was  more  violent  than  what  he  had  formerly  felt. 

He  thought  and  thought,  but  he  could  not  devise  a  fitting 
punishment  for  this  false  woman.  .  Her  death  would  not  con- 
tent his  vengeance — she  must  suffer  something  worse  than 
mere  death. 

Should  he  send  her  back  to  Egypt  disgraced  and  shamed? 
Oh,  no!  she  loved  her  country,  and  she  would  be  received 
by  her  parents  with  open  arms.  Should  he,  after  she  had 
confessed  her  guilt  (for  he  was  determined  to  force  a  confes- 
sion from  her),  shut  her  up  in  a  solitary  dungeon,  or  should 
he  deliver  her  over  to  Boges  to  be  the  servant  of  his  concu- 
bines? Yes!  now  he  had  hit  upon  the  right  punishment. 
Thus  the  faithless  creature  should  be  disciplined,  and  the 
hypocrite  who  had  dared  to  make  sport  of  him — the  all-power- 
ful— forced  to  atone  for  her  crimes. 

Then  he  said  to  himself:  "Bartja  must  not  stay  here;  fire 
and  water  have  more  in  common  than  we  two — he  always 
fortunate  and  happy,  and  I  so  miserable.  Some  day  or  other 
his  descendants  will  divide  my  treasures  and  wear  my  crown; 
but  as  yet  I  am  king,  and  will  show  that  I  am." 

The  thought  of  his  proud,  powerful  position  flashed  through 
him  like  lightning.  He  woke  from  his  dreams  into  new  life, 
flung  his  golden  goblet  far  into  the  hall,  so  that  the  wine  flew 
round  like  rain,  and  cried:  "We  have  had  enough  of  this  idle 
talk  and  useless  noise.  Let  us  hold  a  council  of  war,  drunken 
as  we  are,*  and  consider  what  answer  we  ought  to  give  the 
Massagetae.  Hystaspes,  you  are  the  eldest;  give  us  your 
opinion  first. 

Hystaspes,  the  father  of  Darius,  was  an  old  man.  He  an- 
swered: "It  seems  to  me  that  the  messengers  of  this  wander- 

*"Herod.,"  i,  134.  The  Persians  deliberated  and  resolved  when 
they  were  intoxicated,  and  when  they  were  sober  reconsidered  their 
determinations.  Tacitus  tells  the  same  of  the  old  Germans.  "Germ.." 
0,22. 


252  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

ing  tribe  have  left  us  no  choice.  We  cannot  go  to  war  against 
desert  wastes;  but  as  our  host  is  already  under  arms  and  our 
swords^  have  long  lain  in  their  scabbards,  war  we  must  have. 
We  want  only  a  few  good  enemies,  and  I  know  no  easier  work 
than  to  make  them." 

At  these  words  the  Persians  broke  into  loud  shouts  of  de- 
light; but  Croesus  only  waited  till  the  noise  had  ceased  to  say: 
"Hystaspes,  you  and  I  are  both  old  men;  but  you  are  a 
thorough  Persian  and  fancy  you  can  only  be  happy  in  battle 
and  bloodshed.  You  are  now  obliged  to  lean  for  support  on 
the  staff  which  used  to  be  the  badge  of  your  rank  as  com- 
mander, and  yet  you  speak  like  a  hot-blooded  boy.  I  agree 
with  you  that  enemies  are  easy  enough  to  find,  but  only  fools 
go  out  to  look  for  them.  The  man  who  tries  to  make  enemies 
is  like  a  wretch  who  mutilates  his  own  body.  If  the  enemies 
are  there  let  us  go  out  to  meet  them  like  wise  men  who 
wish  to  look  misfortune  boldly  in  the  face;  but  let  us  never 
try  to  begin  an  unjust  war  hateful  to  the  gods.  We  will  wait 
until  wrong  has  been  done  us,  and  then  go  to  victory  or 
death,  conscious  that  we  have  right  on  our  side." 

The  old  man  was  interrupted  by  a  low  murmur  of  applause, 
drowned,  however,  quickly  by  cries  of  "Hystaspes  is  right! 
let  us  look  for  an  enemy!" 

It  was  now  the  turn  of  the  envoy  Prexaspes  to  speak,  and 
he  answered,  laughing:  "Let  us  follow  the  advice  of  both 
these  noble  old  men.  We  will  do  as  Croesus  bids  us  and  not 
go  out  to  seek  an  enemy,  but  at  the  same  time  we  will  follow 
Hystaspes'  advice  by  raising  our  claims  and  pronouncing 
everyone  our  enemy  who  does  not  cheerfully  consent  to 
become  a  member  of  the  kingdom  founded  by  our  great  father, 
Cyrus.  For  instance,  we  will  ask  the  Indians  if  they  would 
feel  proud  to  obey  your  scepter,  Cambyses.  If  they  answer  no 
it  is  a  sign  that  they  do  not  love  us,  and  whoever  does  not 
love  us  must  be  our  enemy." 

"That  won't  do,"  cried  Zopyrtis.  "We  must  have  war  at 
any  price." 

"I  vote  for  Croesus,"  cried  Gobryas. 

"And  I,  too,"  said  the  noble  Artabazus. 

"We-  are  for  Hystaspes,"  shouted  the  warrior  Araspes,  the 
old  Tntaphernes,  and  some  more  of  Cyrus*  old  companions 
in  arms. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  253 

"War  \vc  must  have  at  any  price,''  roared  the  general  Mega- 
byzus,  the  father  of  Zopyrus,  striking  the  table  so  sharply 
with  his  heavy  fist  that  the  golden  vessels  rang  again  and 
some  goblets  even  fell;  "but  not  with  the  Massagetae — not 
with  a  flying  foe." 

"There  must  be  no  war  with  the  Massagetae,"  said  the  high- 
priest  Oropastes.  "The  gods  themselves  have  avenged  Cyrus' 
death  upon  them." 

Cambyses  sat  for  some  moments,  quietly  and  coldly  watch- 
ing the  unrestrained  enthusiasm  of  his  warriors,  and  then, 
rising  from  his-  seat,  thundered  out  the  words:  "Silence,  and 
listen  to  your  king!" 

The  words  worked  like  magic  en  this  multitude  of  drunken 
men.  Even  those  who  were  most  under  the  influence  of  wine 
listened  to  their  king  in  a  kind  of  unconscious  obedience. 
He  lowered  his  voice  and  went  on:  "I  did  not  ask  whether  you 
wished  for  peace  or  war — I  know  that  every  Persian  prefers 
the  labor  of  war  to  an  inglorious  idleness — but  I  wished  to 
know  what  answer  you  would  give  the  Massagetan  warriors. 
Do  you  consider  that  the  soul  of  my  father — of  the  m>m  to 
whom  you  owe  all  your  greatness — has  been  sufficiently 
avenged?'' 

A  dull  murmur  in  the  affirmative,  interrupted  by  some  vio- 
lent voices  in  the  negative,  was  the  answer.  The  king  then 
asked  a  second  question:  "Shall  we  accept  the  conditions 
proposed  by  their  envoys  and  grant  peace  to  this  nation, 
already  so  scourged  and  desolated  by  the  gods?" 

To  this  they  all  agreed  eagerly. 

"That  is  what  I  wished  to  know,"  continued  Cambyses. 
"To-morrow,  when  we  are  sober,  we  will  follow  the  old  custom 
and  reconsider  what  has  been  resolved  on  during  our  intox- 
ication. Drink  on,  all  of  you,  as  long  as  the  night  lasts.  To- 
morrow at  the  last  crow  of  the  sacred  bird  parodar*  I  shall 
expect  you  to  meet  me  for  the  chase  at  the  gate  of  the  temple 
of  Bel." 

So  saying,  the  king  left  the  hall,  followed  by  a  thundering 

*The  cock  was  held  sacred  by  the  Persians  because  it  scared  the 
dark  divs  of  night  back  into  their  dens.  Jasht,  "A van,"  21.  It  was 
called  parodar  (parodarsh)  and  also  kahrkatac,  (he  who  raises  and 
lowers  his  comb).  "Vendid.,"  xviii,  34. 


254  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"Victory  to  the  king!"  Boges  had  slipped  out  quietly  before 
him.  In  the  forecourt  he  found  one  of  the  gardener's  boys 
from  the  hanging-gardens. 

"What  do  you  want  here?"  asked  Boges. 

"I  have  something  for  the  prince  Bartja." 

"For  Bartja?  Has  he  asked  your  master  to  send  him 
some  seeds  or  slips?" 

The  boy  shook  his  simburned  head  and  smiled  roguishly. 

"Someone  else  sent  you,  then?"  said  Boges,  becoming  more 
attentive. 

"Yes,  someone  else." 

"Ah!  the  Egyptian  has  sent  a  message  to  her  brother-in- 
law?" 

"Who  told  you  that?" 

"Nitetis  spoke  to  me  about  it.  Here,  give  me  what  you 
have;  I  will  give  it  to  Bartja  at  once." 

"I  was  not  to  give  it  to  anyone  but  the  prince  himself." 

"Give  it  to  me;  it  will  be  safer  in  my  hands  than  in  yours1." 

"I  dare  not." 

"Obey  me  at  once,  or " 

At.this  moment  the  king  came  up.  Boges  thought  a  moment, 
and  then  called^  in  a  loud  voice  to  the  whip-bearers  on  duty 
at  the  palace  gate  to  take  the  astonished  boy  up. 

"What  is  the  matter  here?"  asked  Cambyses. 

"This  fellow,"  answered  the  eunuch,  "has  had  the  audacity 
to  make  his  way  into  the  palace  with  a  message  from  your 
consort  Nitetis  to  Bartja." 

At  the  sight  of  the  king  the  boy  had  fallen  on  his  knees, 
touching  the  ground  with  his  forehead. 

Cambyses  looked  at  him  and  turned  deadly  pale.  Then, 
turning  to  the  eunuch,  he  asked:  "What  does  the  Egyptian 
princess  wish  from  my  brother?" 

"The  boy  declares  that  he  has  orders  to  give  up  what  has 
been  intrusted  to  him  to  no  one  but  Bartja." 

On  hearing  this  the  boy  looked  imploringly  up  at  the  king 
and  held  out  a  little  papyrus  roll. 

Cambyses  snatched  it  out  of  his  hand,  but  the  next  moment 
stamped  furiously  on  the  ground  on  seeing  that  the  letter 
was  written  in  Greek,  which  he  could  not  read. 

He  collected  himself,  however,  and  with  an  awful  look, 
asked  the  boy  who  had  given  him  the  letter. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  255 

"The  Egyptian  lady's  waiting-woman,  Mandane,"  he  an- 
swered; "the  Magian's  daughter." 

"For  my  brother  Bartja?" 

"She  said  I  was  to  give  the  letter  to  the  handsome  prince 
before  the  banquet  with  a  greeting  from  h'er  mistress  Nitetis, 
and  I  was  to  tell  him " 

Here  the  king  stamped  so  furiously  that  the  boy  was  fright- 
ened and  could  only  stammer:  "Before  the  banquet  the  prince 
was  walking  with  you,  so  I  could  not  speak  to  him,  and  now 
I  am  waiting  for  him  here,  for  Mandane  promised  to  give 
me  a  piece  of  gold  if  I  did  what  she  told  me  cleverly." 

"And  that  you  have  not  done,"  thundered  the  king,  fancy- 
ing himself  shamefully  deceived.  "No,  indeed,  you  have  not. 
Here,  guards,  seize  this  fellow!" 

The  boy  begged  and  prayed,  but  all  in  vain;  the  whip- 
bearers  seized  him  quick  as  thought,  and  Cambyses,  who 
went  off  at  once  to  his  own  apartments,  was  soon  out  of  reach 
of  his  whining  entreaties  for  mercy. 

Boges  followed  his-  master,  rubbing  his  fat  hands  and  laugh- 
ing quietly  to  himself. 

The  king's  attendants  began  their  work  of  disrobing  him, 
but  he  told  them  angrily  to  leave  him  at  once. 

As  soon  as  they  were  gone  he  called  Boges  and  said,  in  a 
low  voice:  "From  this  time  forward  the  hanging-gardens 
and  the  Egyptian  are  under  your  control.  Watch  her  care- 
fully! If  a  single  human  being  or  a  message  reaches  her 
without  my  knowledge  your  life  will  be  the  forfeit." 

"But  if  Kassandane  or  Atossa  should  send  to  see  her?" 

"Turn  the  messengers  away,  and  send  word  that  every 
attempt  to  see  or  communicate  with  Nitetis  will  be  regarded 
by  me  as  a  personal  offense." 

"May  I  ask  a  favor  for  myself,  O  king?" 

"The  time  is  not  well  chosen  for  asking  favors." 

"I  feel  ill.  Permit  someone  else  to  take  charge  of  the 
hanging-gardens  for  to-morrow  only." 

"No!     Now  leave  me." 

"I  am  in  a  burning  fever  and  have  lost  consciousness  three 
times  during  the  day.  .If,  when  I  am  in  that  state,  anyone 
should " 

"But  who  could  take  your  place?" 

"The  Lydian  captain  of  the  eunuchs,  Kandaules.     He  is 


256  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

true  as  gold  and  inflexibly  severe.  One  day  of  rest  would 
restore  me  to  health.  Have  mercy,  O  king!" 

"No  one  is  so  badly  s-erved  as  the  king  himself.  Kandaules 
may  take  your  place  to-morrow,  but  give  him  the  strictest 
orders,  and  say  that  the  slightest  neglect  will  put  his  life 
in  danger.  Now,  depart." 

"Yet  one  word,  my  king:  to-morrow  night  the  rare  blue 
lily  in  the  hanging-gardens  will  open.  Hystaspes,  Intaphernes, 
Gobryas,  Croesus  and  Oropastes,  the  greatest  horticulturists 
at  your  court,  would  very  much  like  to  see  it.  May  they  be 
allowed  to  visit  the  gardens  for  a  few  minutes?  Kandaules 
shall  see  that  they  enter  into  no  communication  with  the 
Egyptian." 

"Kandaules  must  keep  his  eyes  open,  if  he  cares  for  his 
own  life.  Go!" 

Boges  made  a  deep  obeisance  and  left  the  king's  apartments. 
He  threw  a  few  gold  pieces  to  the  slaves  who  bore  the  torches 
before  him.  He  was  so  very  happy.  Everything  had  suc- 
ceeded beyond  his  expectations;  the  fate  of  Nitetis  was  as 
good  as  decided,  and  he  held  the  life  of  Kandaules,  his  hated 
colleague,  in  his  own  hands. 

Cambyses1  spent  the  night  in  pacing  up  and  down  his  apart- 
ment. By  cock-crow  he  had  decided  that  Nitetis  should  be 
forced  to  confess  her  guilt,  and  then  be  sent  into  the  great 
harem  to  wait  on  the  concubines.  Bartja,  the  destroyer  of 
his  happiness,  should  be  set  off  at  once  for  Egypt,  and  on 
his  return  become  the  satrap  of  some  distant  provinces.  He 
did  not  wish  to  incur  the  guilt  of  a  brother's-  murder,  but  he 
knew  his  own  temper  too  well  not  to  fear  that  in  a  moment 
of  sudden  anger  he  might  kill  one  he  hated  so  much,  and, 
therefore,  wished  to  remove  him  out  of  the  reach  of  his 
passion. 

Two  hours  after  the  sun  had  risen  Cambyses  was  riding  on 
his  fiery  steed,  far  in  front  of  a  countless  train  of  followers 
armed  with  shields,  swords,  lances,  bows  and  lassos,  in  pursuit 
of  the  game  which  was  to  be  found  in  the  immense  preserves 
near  Babylon,  and  was  to  be  started  from  its  lair  by  more 
than  a  thousand  dogs.* 

"The  same  immense  trains  of  followers,  of  course,  accompanied  the 
kings  on  their  hunting  expeditions  as  on  their  Journeys.  As  the  Per- 
sian nobility  were  very  fond  of  huhting  their  boys  were  taught  this 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  25? 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


The  hunt  was  over.  Wagons  full  of  game,  among  which 
were  several  enormous  wild  boars  killed  by  the  king's  own 
hand,  were  driven  home  behind  the  sportsmen.  At  the  palace 
gates  the  latter  dispersed  to  their  several  abodes  in  order  to 
exchange  the  simple  Persian  leather  hunting  costume  for  the 
splendid  Median  court' dress. 

In  the  course  of  the  day's  sport  Cambyses  had  (with  diffi- 
culty restraining  his  agitation)  given  his  brother  the  seem- 
ingly kind  order  to  start  the  next  day  for  Egypt  in  order  to 
fetch  Sappho  and  accompany  her  to  Persia.  At  the  same 
time  he  assigned  him  the  revenues  of  Bactra,  Rhagae  and 
Sinope  for  the  maintenance  of  his  new  household,  and  to  his 
young  wife  all  the  duties  levied  from  her  native  town  Phocaea 
as  pin-money. 

Bartja  thanked  his  generous  brother  with  undisguised 
warmth,  but  Cambyses  remained  cold  as  ice,  uttered  a  few 
farewell  words,  and  then,  riding  off  in  pursuit  of  a  wild  ass1, 
turned  his  back  upon  him. 

On  the  way  home  from  the  chase  the  prince  invited  his 
bosom  friends*  Croesus,  Darius,  Zopyrus  and  Gyges,  to  drink 
a  parting  cup  with  him. 

sport  at  an  early  age.  According  to  Strabo,  kings  themselves  boasted 
of  having  been  mighty  hunters  in  the  inscriptions  on  their  tombs. 
A  relief  has  been  found  in  the  ruins  of  Persepolis,  on  which  the  king 
is  strangling  a  lion  with  his  right  arm.  Texier,  "Description  de  1'Ar- 
menie,"  pi.  98.  Layard  discovered  some  representations  of  hunting 
scenes  during  his  excavations;  as,  for  instance,  stags  and  wild  boars 
among  the  reeds;  and  the  Greeks  often  mention  the  immense  troops 
of  followers  on  horse  and  foot  who  attended  the  kings  of  Persia  when 
they  went  hunting.  According  to  Xenophon,  "Cyrop.,"  i,  2,  ii,  4,  every 
hunter  was  obliged  to  be  armed  with  a  bow  and  arrows,  two  lances, 
sword  and  shield.  In  Firdusi's  "Book  of  Kings"  we  read  that  the  lasso 
was  also  a  favorite  weapon.  Hawking  was  well  known  to  the  Persians 
more  than  nine  hundred  years  ago.  "Book  of  Kabus,"  xviii,  p.  495. 
The  boomerang  was  used  in  catching  birds  as  well  by  the  Persians  as 
by  the  ancient  Egyptians  and  the  present  savage  tribes  of  New  Hol- 
land. Brugsch  tells  us  that  the  present  Shah  of  Persia,  Nasr-ed-din, 
is  a  bold  sportsman  and  passionately  fond  of  hunting. 
*See  note  p.  128. 


25g  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

Croesus  promised  to  join  them  later,  as  he  had  promised 
to  visit  the  blue  lily  at  the  rising  of  the  Tistar  star. 

He  had  been  to  the  hanging-gardens  that  morning  early 
to  visit  Nitetis,  but  had  been  refused  entrance  by  the  guards, 
and  the  blue  lily  seemed  now  to  offer  him  another  chance 
of  seeing  and  speaking  to  his  beloved  pupil.  He  wished  for 
this  very  much,  as  he  could  not  thoroughly  understand  her 
behavior  the  day  before,  and  was  uneasy  at  the  strict  watch 
set  over  her. 

The  young  Achaemenidae  sat  cheerfully  talking  together 
in  the  twilight  in  a  shady  bower  in  the  royal  gardens,  cool 
fountains  plashing  round  them.  Araspes,  a  Persian  of  high 
rank,  who  had  been  one  of  Cyrus'  friends,  had  joined  them, 
and  did  full  justice  to  the  prince's  excellent  wine. 

"Fortunate  Bartja!"  cried  the  old  bachelor,  "going  out 
to  a  golden  country  to  fetch  the  woman  you  love;  while  I, 
miserable  old  fellow,  am  blamed  by  everybody,*  and  totter 
to  my  grave  without  wife  or  children  to  weep  for  me  and 
pray  the  gods  to  be  merciful  to  my  poor  soul." 

"Why  think  of  such  things?"  cried  Zopyrus,  flourishing  the 
wine-cup.  "There's  no  woman  so  perfect  that  her  husband 
does  not,  at  least  once  a  day,  repent  that  he  ever  took  a  wife. 
Be  merry,  old  friend,  and  remember  that  it's  all  your  own 
fault.  If  you  thought  a  wife  would  make  you  happy  why 
did  you  not  do  as  I  have  done?  I  am  only  twenty-two  years 
old  and  have  five  stately  wives  and  a  troop  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful slaves  in  my  house." 

Araspes  smiled  bitterly. 

"And  what  hinders  you  from  marrying  now?"  said  Gyges. 
"You  are  a  match  for  many  a  younger  man  in  appearance, 
strength,  courage  and  perseverance.  You  are  one  of  the  king's 
nearest  relations,  too.  I  tell  you,  Araspes,  you  might  have 
twenty  young  and  beautiful  wives." 

"Look  after  your  own  affairs,"  answered  Araspes.  "In 
your  place  I  certainly  should  not  have  waited  to  marry  till  I 
was  thirty." 

"An  oracle  has  forbidden  my  marrying." 

"Folly!  how  can  a  sensible  man  care  for  what  an  oracle 
says?  It  is  only  by  dreams  that  the  gods  announce  the  future 
to  men.  I  should  have  thought  that  your  own  father  was 
*See  note  p.  247. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  25y 

example  enough  of  the  shameful  way  in  which  those  lying 
priests  deceive  their  best  friends." 

"That  is  a  matter  which  you  do  not  understand,  Araspes." 

"And  never  wish  to,  boy,  for  you  only  believe  in  oracles 
because  you  don't  understand  them,  and  in  your  shortsight- 
edness call  everything  that  is-  beyond  your  comprehension  a 
miracle.  And  you  place  more  confidence  in  anything  that 
seems  to  you  miraculous  than  in  the  plain,  simple  truth  that 
lies  before  your  face.  An  oracle  deceived  your  father  and 
plunged  him  into  ruin;  but  the  oracle  is  miraculous,  and  so 
you,  too,  in  perfect  confidence,  allow  it  to  rob  you  of  hap- 
piness!" 

"That  is  blasphemy,  Araspes.  Are  the  gods  to  be  blamed 
because  we  misunderstand  their  words?" 

"Certainly;  for  if  they  wished  to  benefit  us  they  would 
give  us,  with  the  words,  the  necessary  penetration  for  discov- 
ering their  meaning.  What  good  does  a  beautiful  speech  do 
me,  if  it  is  in  a  foreign  language  that  I  do  not  understand?" 

"Leave  off  this  useless  discussion,"  said  Darius,  "and  tell 
us  instead,  Araspes,  how  it  i's  that,  though  you  congratulate 
every  man  on  becoming  a  bridegroom,  you  yourself  have  so 
long  submitted  to  be  blamed  by  the  priests,  slighted  at  all 
entertainments  and  festivals,  and  abused  by  the  women,  only 
because  you  choose  to  live  and  die  a  bachelor?" 

Araspes  looked  down  thoughtfully,  then  shook  himself,  took 
a  long  draught  from  the  wine-cup,  and  said:  "I  have  my 
reasons,  friends,  but  I  cannot  tell  them  now." 

"Tell  them,  tell  them,"  was  the  answer. 

"No,  children,  I  cannot,  indeed,  I  cannot.  This  cup  I  drain 
to  the  health  of  the  charming  Sappho,  and  this  second  to 
your  good  fortune,  my  favorite,  Darius." 

"Thanks,  Araspes!"  exclaimed  Bartja,  joyfully  raising  his 
goblet  to  his  lips. 

"You  mean  well,  I  know,"  muttered  Darius,  looking  down 
gloomily. 

"What's  this,  you  son  of  Hystaspes?"  said  the  old  man 
looking  more  narrowly  at  the  serious  face  of  the  youth.  "Dark 
looks  like  these  don't  sit  well  on  a  betrothed  lover  who  is  to 
drink  to  the  health  of  his  dearest  one.  Is  not  Gobryas'  little 
daughter  the  noblest  of  all  the  young  Persian  girls  after 
Atossa?  and  isn't  she  beautiful?" 


260  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"Artystone  has  every  talent  and  quality  that  a  daughter  of 
the  Achaemenidae  ought  to  possess,"  was  Darius'  answer,  but 
his  brow  did  not  clear  as:  he  said  the  words. 

"Well,  if  you  want  more  than  that,  you  must  be  very  hard 
to  please." 

Darius  raised  his  goblet  and  looked  down  into  the  wine. 

"The  boy  is  in  love,  as  sure  as  my  name  is  Araspes !" 
•exclaimed  the  elder  man. 

"What  a  set  of  foolish  fellows  you  are,"  broke  in  Zopyrus 
at  this  exclamation.  "One  of  you  has  remained  a  bachelor 
in  defiance  of  all  Persian  customs;  another  has  been  frightened 
out  of  marrying  by  an  oracle;  Bartja  has  determined  to  be 
content  with  only  one  wife;  and  Darius  looks  like  a  destur 
chanting  the  funeral  service  because  his  father  has  told  him 
to  make  himself  happy  with  the  most  beautiful  and  aristo- 
cratic girl  in  all  Persia!" 

"Zopyrus  is  right,"  cried  Araspes.  "Darius  is  ungrateful  to 
fortune." 

Bartja,  meanwhile,  kept  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  friend  who 
was  thus  blamed  by  the  others.  He  saw  that  their  jests  an- 
noyed him,  and,  feeling  his  own  great  happiness  doubly  in 
that  moment,  pressed  Darius'  hand,  saying:  "I  am  so  sorry 
that  I  cannot  be  present  at  your  wedding.  By  the  time  I  come 
back  I  hope  you  will  be  reconciled  to  your  father's  choice." 

"Perhaps,"  said  Darius,  "I  may  be  able  to  show  a  second 
and  even  a  third  wife  by  that  time." 

"Anahita*  grant  it!"  exclaimed  Zopyrus.  "The  Achae- 
menidae would  soon'  become  extinct  if  everyone  were  to 
follow  such  examples  as  Gyges  and  Araspes  have  set  us. 
And  your  one  wife,  Bartja,  is  really  not  worth  talking  about. 
It  is  your  duty  to  marry  three  wives  at  once,  in  order  to  keep 
up  your  father's  family — the  race  of  Cyrus1." 

"I  hate  our  custom  of  marrying  many  wives,"  answered 
Bartja.  "Through  doing  this  we  make  ourselves  inferior  to 
the  women,  for  we  expect  them  to  remain  faithful  to  us  all  our 
lives,  and  we,  who  are  bound  to  respect  truth  and  faithfulness 
above  everything  else,  swear  inviolable  love  to  one  woman  to- 
day and  to  another  to-morrow." 

"Nonsense,"  cried  Zopyrus.     "I'd  rather  lose  my  tongue 

*See  note  p.  190. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  261 

i,  An  tell  a  lie  to  a  man,  but  our  wives  are  so  awfully  deceitful 
that  one  has  no  choice  but  to  pay  them  back  in  their  own 
coin." 

"The  Greek  women  are  different,"  said  Bartja,  "because 
they  are  differently  treated.  Sappho  told  me  of  one,  I  think 
her  name  was  Penelope,  who  waited  twenty  years  faithfully 
and  lovingly  for  ner  husband,  though  everyone  believed  he 
was  dead,  and  she  had  fifty  lovers  a  day  at  her  house." 

"My  wives  would  not  wait  so  long  for  me,"  said  Zopyrus, 
laughing.  "To  tell  the  truth,  I  don't  think  I  should  be  sorry 
to  find  an  empty  house  if  I  came  back  after  twenty  years.  For 
then  I  could  take  some  new  wives  into  my  harem,  young  and 
beautiful,  instead  of  the  unfaithful  ones,  who,  besides,  would 
have  grown  old.  But,  alas!  every  woman  does  not  find  some 
one  to  run  away  with  her,  and  our  women  would  rather  have 
an  absent  husband  than  none  at  all." 

"If  your  wives  could  hear  what  you  are  saying!"  said 
Araspes. 

"They  would  declare  war  with  me  at  once,  or,  what  is  still 
worse,  conclude  a  peace  with  one  another." 

"How  would  that  be  worse?" 

"How?    It  is  easy  to  see  that  you  have  had  no  experience." 

"Then  let  us  into  the  secrets  of  your  married  life." 

"With  pleasure.  You  can  easily  fancy  that  five  wives  in 
one  house  do  not  live  quite  so  peacefully  as  five  doves  in  a 
cage ;  mine,  at  least,  carry  on  an  uninterrupted,  mortal  warfare. 
But  I  have  accustomed  myself  to  that,  and  their  sprightliness 
even  amuses  me.  A  year  ago,  however,  they  came  to  terms 
with  one  another,  and  this  day  of  peace  was  the  most  miserable 
in  my  life." 

"You  are  jesting." 

"No,  indeed,  I  am  quite  in  earnest.  The  wretched  eunuch 
who  had  to  keep  watch  over  the  five  allowed  them  to  see  an 
old  jewel-merchant  from  Tyre.  Each  of  them  chose  a  separate 
and  expensive  set  of  jewels.  When  I  came  back  home 
Sudabe  came  up  and  begged  for  money  to  pay  for  these  orna- 
ments. The  things  were  too  dear  and  I  refused.  Every  one 
of  the  five  then  came  and  begged  me  separately  for  the  money; 
I  refused  each  of  them  point  blank  and  went  off  to  court. 
When  I  came  back  there  were  all  my  wives, weeping  side  by 
side,  embracing  one  another  and  calling  each  other  fellow-suf- 


262  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

ferers.  These  former  enemies  rcse  up  against  me  with  the 
most  touching  unanimity,  and  so  overwhelmed  me  with  re- 
vilings  and  threats  that  I  left  the  room.  They  closed  their 
doors  against  me.  The  next  morning  the  lamentations  of  the 
evening  before  were  continued.  I  fled  once  more  and  went 
hunting  with  the  king,  and  when  I  came  back,  tired,  hungry 
and  half-frozen — for  it  was  in  spring,  we  were  already  at 
Ekbatana  and  the  snow  was  lying  an  ell  deep  on  the  Orontes 
— there  was  no  fire  on  the  hearth  and  nothing  to  eat.  These 
noble  creatures  had  entered  into  an  alliance  in  order  to  punish 
me,  had  put  out  the  fire,  forbidden  the  cooks  to  do  their  duty, 
and,  which  was  worse  than  all — had  kept  the  jewels!  No 
sooner  had  I  ordered  the  slaves  to  make  a  fire  and  prepare 
food  than  the  impudent  jewel-dealer  appeared  and  demanded 
his  money.  I  refus-ed  again,  passed  another  solitary  night,  and 
in  the  morning  sacrificed  ten  talents  for  the  sake  of  peace. 
Since  that  time  harmony  and  peace  among  my  beloved  wives 
seems  to  me  as  much  to  be  feared  as  the  evil  divs  themselves, 
and  I  see  their  little  quarrels  with  the  greatest  pleasure/' 

"Poor  Zopyrus!"  cried  Bartja. 

"Why  poor?"  asked  this  fivefold  husband.  "I  tell  you  I  am 
much  happier  than  you  are.  My  wives  are  young  and  charm- 
ing, and,  when  they  grow  old,  what  is  to  hinder  me  from  taking 
others,  still  handsomer,  and  who,  by  the  side  of  the  faded 
beauties,  will  be  doubly  charming?  Ho!  slave,  bring  some 
lamps.  The  sun  has  gone  down,  and  the  wine  loses  all  its 
flavor  when  the  table  is  not  brightly  lighted." 

At  this  moment  the  voice  of  Darius,  who  had  left  the  arbor 
and  gone  out  into  the  garden,  was  heard  calling:  "Come  and 
hear  how  beautiful  the  nightingale  is  singing." 

"By  Mithras,  you  son  of  Hystaspes,  you  must  be  in  love," 
interrupted  Araspes.  "The  flowery  darts  of  love*  must  have 
entered  the  heart  of  him  who  leaves  his  wine  to  listen  to  the 
nightingale." 

"You  are  right  there,  father,"  cried  Bartja.    "Philomel,  as 

*We  have  borrowed  this  idea  from  the  Indians,  the  arrows  of  whose 
love-god,  Kama,  were  made  of  sharpened  flower-blossoms.  The  night- 
ingale "gulgul"  plays  a  great  part  in  the  Persian  love-songs.  Her 
song  is  spoken  of  as  the  perfection  of  sweet  sound,  and  she  herself  PS 
the  lovers'  bird.  See  J.  von  Hammer's  "Geschichte  der  Schonen  Red- 
ekiinste  Persiens." 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  263 

the  Greeks  call  our  gulgul,  is  the  lovers'  bird  among  all  nations, 
for  love  has  given  her  her  beautiful  song.  What  beauty  were 
you  dreaming  of,  Darius,  when  you  went  out  to  listen  to  the 
nightingale?" 

"I  was  not  dreaming  of  any,"  answered  he.  You  know  how 
fond  I  am  of  watching  the  stars,  and  the  Tistar  star  rose  so 
splendidly  to-night  that  I  left  the  wine  to  watch  it.  The  night- 
ingales were  singing  so  loudly  to  one  another  that  if  I  had  not 
wished  to  hear  them  I  must  have  stopped  my  ears." 

"You  kept  them  wide  open,  however,"  said  Araspes,  laugh- 
ing. "Your  enraptured  exclamation  proved  that." 

"Enough  of  this,"  cried  Darius,  to  whom  these  jokes  were 
getting  wearisome.  "I  really  must  beg  you  to  leave  off  making 
allusions  to  matters  which  I  do  not  care  to  hear  spoken  of." 

"Imprudent  fellow!"  whispered  the  older  man;  "now  you 
really  have  betrayed  yourself.  If  you  were  not  in  love  you 
would  have  laughed  instead  of  getting  angry.  Still,  I  won't 
go  on  provoking  you ;  tell  me  what  you  have  just  been  reading 
in  the  stars." 

At  these  words  Darius  looked  up  again  into  the  starry  sky 
and  fixed  his  eyes  on  a  bright  constellation  hanging  over  the 
horizon.  Zopyrus  watched  him  and  called  out  to  his  friends: 
"Something  important  must  be  happening  up  there.  Darius, 
tell  us  what's  going  on  in  the  heavens  just  now." 

"Nothing  good,"  answered  the  other.  "Bartja,  I  have 
something  to  say  to  you  alone." 

"Why  to  me  alone?  Araspes  always  keeps  his  own  counsel, 
and  from  the  rest  of  you  I  never  have  any  secrets." 

"Still " 

"Speak  out." 

"No,  I  wish  you  would  come  into  the  garden  with  me." 

Bartja  nodded  to  the  others,  who  were  still  sitting  over  their 
wine,  laid  his  hand  on  Darius'  shoulder,  and  went  out  with  him 
into  the  bright  moonlight.  As  soon  as  they  were  alone  Darius 
seized  both  his  friends'  hands  and  said:  "To-day  is  the  third 
time  that  things  have  happened  in  the  heavens  which  bode  no 
good  for  you.  Your  evil  star  has  approached  your  favorable 
constellation  so  nearly  that  a  mere  novice  in  astrology  could 
see  some  serious  danger  was  at  hand.  Be  on  your  guard, 
Bartja,  and  start  for  Egypt  to-day;  the  stars  tell  me  that  the 
danger  is  here  on  the  Euphrates,  not  abroad." 


264  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"Do  you  believe  implicitly  in  the  stars?" 

"Implicitly.    They  never  lie." 

"Then  it  would  be  folly  to  try  and  avoid  what  they  have 
foretold." 

"Yes,  no  man  can  run  away  from  his  destiny;  but  that  very 
destiny  is  like  a  fencing-master — his  favorite  pupils  are  those 
who  have  the  courage  and  skill  to  parry  his  own  blows.  Start 
for  Egypt  to-day,  Bartja." 

"I  cannot — I  haven't  taken  leave  of  my  mother  and  Atossa." 

"Send  them  a  farewell  message,  and  tell  Croesus  to  explain 
the  reason  of  your  starting  so  quickly." 

"They  would  call  me  a  coward." 

"It  is  cowardly  to  yield  to  any  mortal,  but  to  go  out  of  the 
way  of  one's  fate  is  wisdom." 

"You  contradict  yourself,  Darius.  What  would  the  fencing- 
master  say  to  a  runaway  pupil  ?" 

"He  would  rejoice  in  the  stratagem  by  which  an  isolated 
individual  tried  to  escape  a  superior  force." 

"But  the  superior  force  must  conquer  at  last.  What  would 
be  the  use  of  my  trying  to  put  off  a  danger  which,  you  say 
yourself,  cannot  be  averted  ?  If  my  tooth  aches,  I  have  it  drawn 
at  once,  instead  of  tormenting  and  making  myself  miserable 
for  weeks  by  putting  off  the  painful  operation,  as  a  coward  or 
a  woman  would,  till  the  last  moment.  I  can  await  this  coming 
danger  bravely,  and  the  sooner  it  comes  the  better,  for  then  I 
shall  have  it  behind  me." 

"You  don't  know  how  serious  it  is." 

"Are  you  afraid  for  my  life?" 

"No." 

"Then,  tell  me,  what  are  you  afraid  of?" 

"That  Egyptian  priest,  with  whom  I  used  to  study  the  stars, 
once  cast  your  horoscope  with  me.  He  knew  more  about  the 
heavens  than  any  man  I  ever  saw.  I  learned  a  great  deal  from 
him,  and  I  will  not  hide  from  you  that  even  then  he  drew  my 
attention  to  clangers  that  threaten  you  now." 

"And  you  did  not  tell  me." 

"Why  should  I  have  made  you  uneasy  beforehand?  NOAV, 
that  your  destiny  is  drawing  nearer,  I  warn  you." 

"Thank  you — I  will  be  careful.  In  former  times  I  should 
not  have  listened  to  such  a  warning,  but  now,  that  I  love  Sap- 
pho, I  feel  as  if  my  life  were  not  so  much  my  own  to  do  what  I 
like  with,  as  it  used  to  be." 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  26C 


"I  understand  this  feeling- 


"You  understand  it?  Then  Araspes  was  right?  You  don't 
deny?" 

"A  mere  dream  without  any  hope  of  fulfillment" 

"But  what  woman  could  refuse  you?" 

"Refuse!" 

"I  don't  understand  you.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you — 
the  boldest  sportsman,  the  strongest  wrestler  of  all  the  young 
Persians — that  you,  Darius,  are  afraid  of  a  woman?" 

"Bartja,  may  I  tell  you  more  than  I  would  tell  even  to  my 
own  father?" 

"Yes." 

"I  love  the  daughter  of  Cyrus,  your  sister  and  the  king's — • 
Atossa." 

"Have  I  understood  you  rightly?  you  love  Atossa?  Be 
praised  for  this,  oh,  ye  pure  Amesha  <;penta!*  Now  I  shall 
never  believe  in  your  stars  again,  for,  instead  of  the  danger 
with  which  they  threatened  me,  here  comes  an  unexpected  hap- 
piness. Embrace  me,  my  brother,  and  tell  me  the  whole  story, 
that  I  may  see  whether  I  can  help  you  to  turn  this  hopeless 
dream,  as  you  call  it,  into  a  reality." 

"You  will  remember  that  before  our  journey  to  Egypt  we 
went  with  the  entire  court  from  Ekbatana  to  Susa.  I  was  in 
command  of  the  division  of  the  "immortals"  appointed  to 
escort  the  carriages  containing  the  king's  mother  and  sisters 
and  his  wives.  In  going  through  the  narrow  pass  which  leads 
over  the  Orontes  the  horses  of  your  mother's  carriage  slipped. 
The  yoke  to  which  the  horses  were  harnessedf  broke  from  the 
pole,  and  the  heavy,  four-wheeled  carriage  fell  over  the  preci- 
pice without  obstruction.  On  seeing  it  disappear  we  were 
horrified  and  spurred  our  horses  to  the  place  as  quickly  as 
possible.  We  expected,  .of  course,  to  see  only  fragments  of 
the  carriage  and  the  dead  bodies  of  its  inmates,  but  the  gods 


*See  note  p.  272. 

fThere  was  a  yoke  at  the  end  of  the  shaft  of  a  Persian  carriage 
which  was  fastened  on  the  backs  of  the  horses  and  took  the  place  of 
our  horse-collar  and  pole-chain.  See  illustration  in  Gosse's  "Assyria," 
p.  224.  "Layard,"  pp.  151  and  447-451.  The  Egyptian  horses  were 
harnessed  in  the  same  manner.  See  note  p.  17.  The  horses  represent- 
ed on  the  Persian  and  Assyrian  monuments  are  without  question  a 
different,  race  from  those  on  the  Egyptian, 


266  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

had  taken  them  into  their  almighty  protection,  and  there  lay 
the  carriage,  with  broken  wheels,  in  the  arms  of  two  gigantic 
cypresses  which  had  taken  firm  root  in  the  fissures  of  the  slate 
rocks  and  whose  dark  tops  reached  up  to  the  edge  of  the  car- 
riage-road. 

"As  quick  as  thought  I  sprang  from  my  horse  and  scrambled 
down  one  of  the  cypresses.  Your  mother  and  sister  stretched 
their  arms  out  to  me,  crying  for  help.  The  danger  was  fright- 
ful, for  the  sides  of  the  carriage  had  been  so  shattered  by  the 
fall  that  they  threatened  every  moment  to  give  way,  in  which 
case  those  inside  it  must  inevitably  have  fallen  into  the  black, 
unfathomable  abyss  which  looked  like  an  abode  for  the 
gloomy  divs  and  stretched  its  jaws  wide  to  crush  its  beautiful 
victims. 

"I  stood  before  the  shattered  carriage  as  it  hung  over  the 
precipice  ready  to  fall  to  pieces  every  moment,  and  then,  for  the 
first  time,  I  met  your  sister's  imploring  look.  From  that  mo- 
ment I  loved  her,  but  at  the  time  I  was  much  too  intent  on 
saving  them  to  think  of  anything  else,  and  had  no  idea  what 
had  taken  place  within  me.  I  dragged  the  trembling  women 
out  of  the  carriage,  and  one  minute  later  it  rolled  down  the 
abyss,  crashing  it  into  a  thousand  pieces.  I  am  a  strong  man, 
but  I  confess  that  all  my  strength  was  required  to  keep  myself 
and  the  two  women  from  falling  over  the  precipice  until  ropes 
were  thrown  to  us  from  above.  Atossa  hung  round  my  neck, 
and  Kassandane  lay  on  my  breast,  supported  by  my  left  arm ; 
with  the  right  I  fastened  the  rope  round  my  waist,  we  were 
drawn  up,  and  I  found  myself  a  few  minutes  later  on  the  high- 
road— your  mother  and  sister  were  saved. 

"As  soon  as  one  of  the  magi  had  bound  up  the  wounds  cut 
by  the  rope  in  my  side,  the  king  sent  for  me,  gave  me  the 
chain  I  am  now  wearing,  and  the  revenues  of  an  entire  satrapy, 
and  then  took  me  to  his  mother  and  sister.  They  expressed 
their  gratitude  very  warmly;  Kassandane  allowed  me  to  kiss 
her  forehead,  and  gave  me  all  the  jewels  she  had  worn  at  the 
time  of  the  accident  as  a  present  for  my  future  wife.  Atossa 
took  a  ring  from  her  finger,  put  it  on  mine,  and  kissed  my  hand 
in  the  warmth  of  her  emotion — you  know  how  eager  and  excit- 
able she  is.  Since  that  day — the  happiest  in  my  life — I  have 
never  seen  your  sister  till  yesterday  evening,  when  we  sat 
opposite  to  each  other  at  the  banquet.  Our  eyes  met.  I  saw 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  267 

nothing  but  Atossa,  and  I  think  she  has  not  forgotten  the  man 
who  saved  her.  Kassandane " 

"Oh,  my  mother  would  be  delighted  to  have  you  for  a  son- 
in-law;  I  will  answer  for  that.  As  to  the  king,  your  father 
must  apply  to  him ;  he  is  our  uncle,  and  has  a  right  to  ask  the 
hand  of  Cyrus'  daughter  for  his  son." 

"But,  have  you  forgotten  your  father's  dream?  You  know 
that  Cambyses  has  always  looked  on  me  with  suspicion  since 
that  time.'' 

"Oh,  that  has  been  long  forgotten.  My  father  dreamed 
before  his  death  that  you  had  wings,*  and  was  misled  by  the 
soothsayers  into  the  fancy  that  you,  though  you  were  only 
eighteen  then,  would  try  to  gain  the  crown.  Cambyses  thought 
of  this  dream,  too;  but,  when  you  saved  my  mother  and  sister, 
Croesus  explained  to  him  that  this  must  have  been  its  fulfill- 
ment, as  no  one  but  Darius  or  a -winged  eagle  could  possibly 
have  possessed  strength  and  dexterity  enough  to  hang  sus- 
pended over  such  an  abyss." 

"Yes,  and  I  remember,  too,  that  these  words  did  not  please 
your  brother.  He  chooses  to  be  the  only  eagle  in  Persia ;  but 
Croesus  does  not  spare  his  vanity 

"Where  can  Croesus  be  all  this  time?" 

"In  the  hanging-gardens.  My  father  and  Gobryas  have  very 
likely  detained  him." 

Just  at  that  moment  the  voice  of  Zopyrus  was  heard,  ex- 
claiming: "Well,  I  call  that  polite!  Bartja  invites  us  to  a  wine 
party  and  leaves  us  sitting  here  without  a  host  while  he  talks 
secret  yonder." 

"We  are  coming,  we  are  coming,"  answered  Bartja.  Then, 
taking  the  hand  of  Darius  heartily,  he  said:  "I  am  very  glad 
that  you  love  Atossa.  I  shall  stay  here  till  the  day  after  to- 
morrow, let  the  stars  threaten  me  with  all  the  dangers  in  the 
world.  To-morrow  I  will  find  out  what  Atossa  feels,  and  when 
everything  is  in  the  right  track  I  shall  go  away  and  leave  my 
winged  Darius  to  his  own  powers." 

So  saying,  Bartja  went  back  into  the  arbor,  and  his  friend 
began  to  watch  the  stars  again.  The  longer  he  looked  the 
sadder  and  more  serious  became  his  face,  and  when  the  Tistar 
star  set  he  murmured:  "Poof  Bartja!"  His  friends  called  him, 

*"Herod.,"  i,  209. 


268  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

and  he  was  on  the  point  of  returning  to  them  when  he  caught 
sight  of  a  new  star  and  began  to  examine  its  position  carefully. 
His  serious  looks  gave  way  to  a  triumphant  smile,  his  tall 
figure  seemed  to  grow  taller  still,  he  pressed  his  hand  on  his 
heart  and  whispered,  "Use  your  pinions,  winged  Darius;  your 
star  will  be  on  your  side,"  and  then  returned  to  his  friends. 

A  few  minutes  after  Croesus  came  up  to  the  arbor.  The 
youths  sprang  from  their  seats  to  welcome  the  old  man,  but 
when  he  saw  Bartja's  face  by  the  bright  moonlight  he  stood 
as  if  transfixed  by  a  flash  of  lightning. 

"What  has  happened,  father?"  asked  Gyges,  seizing  his  hand 
anxiously. 

"Nothing,  nothing,"  he  stammered  almost  inaudibly,  and, 
pushing  his  son  on  one  side,  whispered  in  Bartja's  ear:  "Un- 
happy boy,  you  are  still  here?  Don't  delay  any  longer — fly  at 
once !  the  whip-bearers  are  close  at  my  heels,  and  I  assure  you 
that  if  you  don't  use  the  greatest  speed  you  will  have  to  forfeit 
your  double  imprudence  with  your  life." 

"But,  Croesus,  I  have " 

"You  have  set  at  naught  the  law  of  the  land  and  of  the 
court,  and,  in  appearance  at  least,  have  done  great  offense 
to  your  brother's  honor " 

"You  are  speaking " 

"Fly,  I  tell  you — fly  at  once;  for  if  your  visit  to  the  hanging- 
gardens  was  ever  so  innocently  meant  you  are  still  in  the 
greatest  danger.  You  know  Cambyses'  violent  temper  so 
well;  how  could  you  so  wickedly  disobey  his  express  com- 
mand?" 

"I  don't  understand." 

"No  excuses — fly!  Don't  you  know  that  Cambyses  has  long 
been  jealous  of  you,  and  that  your  visit  to  the  Egyptian  to- 
night  " 

"I  have  never  once  set  foot  in  the  hanging-gardens  since 
Nitetis  has  been  here." 

"Don't  add  a  lie  to  your  offense,  I " 

"But  I  swear  to  you " 

"Do  you  wish  to  turn  a  thoughtless  act  into  a  crime  hy 
adding  the  guilt  of  perjury?  The  whip-bearers  are  coming, 

"I  shall  remain  here  and  abide  by  my  oath." 

"You  are  infatuated!    It  is  not  an  hour  ago  since  I  myself, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  269 

Hystaspes  and  others  of  the  Achaemenidae  saw  you  in  the 
hanging-gardens " 

In  his  astonishment  Bartja  had  half-involuntarily  allowed 
himself  to  be  led  away,  but  when  he  heard  this  he  stood  still, 
called  his  friends,  and  said:  "Croesus  says  he  met  me  an  hour 
ago  in  the  hanging-gardens;  you  know  that  since  the  sun  set 
I  have  not  been  away  from  you.  Give  your  testimony  that  in 
this  case  an  evil  div  must  have  made  sport  of  our  friend  and  his 
companions." 

"I  swear  to  you,  father,"  cried  Gyges,  "that  Bartja  has  not 
left  this  garden  for  some  hours." 

"And  we  confirm  the  same,"  added  Araspes,  Zopyrus  and 
Darius  with  one  voice. 

"You  want  to  deceive  me,"  said  Croesus,  getting  very  angry, 
and  looking  at  each  of  them  reproachfully.  "Do  you  fancy 
that  I  am  blind  or  mad?  Do  you  think  that  your  witness  will 
outweigh  the  words  of  such  men  as  Hystaspes,  Gobryas,  Arta- 
phernes  and  the  high-priest  Oropastes?  In  spite  of  all  your 
false  testimony.,  which  no  amount  of  friendship  can  justify, 
Bartja  will  have  to  die  unless  he  flies  at  once." 

"May  Anpramainjus  destroy  me,"  said  Araspes,  interrupt- 
ing the  old  man,  "if  Bartja  was  in  the  hanging-gardens  two 
hours  ago !"  and  Gyges  added : 

"Don't  call  me  your  son  any  longer  if  we  have  given  false 
testimony." 

Darius  was  beginning  to  appeal  to  the  eternal  stars,  but 
Bartja  put  an  end  to  this  confusion  of  voices  by  saying,  in  a 
decided  tone :  "A  division  of  the  bodyguard  is  coming  into  the 
garden.  I  am  to  be  arrested;  I  cannot  escape  because  I  am 
innocent,  and  to  fly  would  lay  me  open  to  suspicion.  By  the 
soul  of  my  father,  the  blind  eyes  of  my  mother  and  the  pure 
light  of  the  sun,  Croesus,  I  swear  that  I  am  not  lying." 

"Am  I  to  believe  you,  in  spite  of  my  own  eyes,  which  have 
never  yet  deceived  me?  But  I  will,  boy,  for  I  love  you.  I  do 
not  and  I  will  not  know  whether  you  are  innocent  or  guilty, 
but  this  I  do  know,  you  must  fly,  and  fly  at  once.  You  know 
Cambyses.  My  carriage  is  waiting  at  the  gate.  Don't  spare 
the  horses,  save  yourself  even  if  you  drive  them  to  death.  The 
soldiers  seem  to  know  what  they  have  been  sent  to  do ;  there 
can  be  no  question  that  they  delav  so  long  only  in  order  to  give 
their  favorite  time  to  escape.  Fly,  fly,  or  it  is  all  over  with 
you." 


270  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

Darius,  too,  pushed  his  friend  forward,  exclaiming:  "Fly, 
Bartja,  and  remember  the  warning  that  the  heavens  themselves 
wrote  in  the  stars  for  you." 

Bartja,  however,  stood  silent,  shook  his  handsome  head, 
waved  his  friend  back,  and  answered:  "I  never  ran  away  yet, 
and  I  mean  to  hold  my  ground  to-day.  Cowardice  is  worse 
than  death  in  my  opinion,  and  I  would  rather  suffer  wrong 
at  the  hands  of  others  than  disgrace  myself.  There  are  the 
soldiers!  Well  met,  Bischen.  You've  come  to  arrest  me, 
haven't  you.  Wait  one  moment  till  I  have  said  good-by  to 
my  friends." 

Bischen,  the  officer  he  spoke  to,  was  one  of  Cyrus'  old 
captains;  he  had  given  Bartja  his  first  lessons  in  shooting  and 
throwing  the  spear,  had  fought  by  his  side  in  the  war  with 
the  Tapuri,  and  loved  him  as  if  he  were  his  own  son.  He 
interrupted  him,  saying:  "There  is  no  need  to  take  leave  of 
your  friends,  for  the  king,  who  is  raging  like  a  madman, 
ordered  me  not  only  to  arrest  you,  but  everyone  else  who 
might  be  with  you." 

And  then  he  added,  in  a  low  voice:  "The  king  is  beside 
himself  with  rage  and  threatens  to  have  your  life.  You  must 
fly.  My  men  will  do  what  I  tell  them  blindfold ;  they  will  not 
pursue  you ;  and  I  am  so  old  that  it  would  be  little  loss  to  Per- 
sia if  my  head  were  the  price  of  my  disobedience.'1 

"Thanks,  thanks,  my  friend,"  said  Bartja,  giving  him  his 
hand;  "but  I  cannot  accept  your  offer,  because  I  am  innocent, 
and  I  know  that,  though  Cambyses  is  hasty,  he  is  not  unjust. 
Come,  friends,  I  think  the  king  will  give  us  a  hearing  to-day, 
late  as  it  is." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


Two  hours  later  Bartja  and  his  friends  were  standing  before 
the  king.  The  gigantic  man  was  seated  on  his  golden  throne ; 
he  was  pale  and  his  eyes  looked  sunken;  two  physicians  stood 
waiting  behind  him  with  all  kinds  of  instruments  and  vessels 
in  their  hands.  Cambyses  had,  only  a  few  moments  before, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  271 

recovered  consciousness,  after  lying  for  more  than  an  hour  in 
one  of  those  awful  fits,  so  destructive  both  to  mind  and  body, 
which  we  call  epileptic. 

Since  Nitetis'  arrival  he  had  been  free  from  this  illness;  but 
it  had  seized  him  to-day  with  fearful  violence  owing  to  the 
overpowering  mental  excitement  he  had  gone  through.* 

If  he  had  met  Bartja  a  few  hours  before  he  would  have 
killed  him  with  his  own  hand;  but  though  the  epileptic  fit  had 
not  subdued  his  anger  it  had  at  least  so  far  quieted  it  that  he  was 
in  a  condition  to  hear  what  was  to  be  said  on  both  sides. 

At  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  stood  Hystaspas,  Darius' 
gray-haired  father;  Gobryas,  his  future  father-in-law;  the 
aged  Intaphernes,  the  grandfather  of  the  Phaedime  whose 
place  in  the  king's  favor  had  been  given  to  Nitetis;  Oropastes, 
the  high-priest;  Croesus,  and  behind  them,  Boges,  the  chief 
of  the  eunuchs.  At  its  left  Bartja,  whose  hands  were  heavily 
fettered,  Araspes,  Darius,  Zopyrus  and  Gyges.  In  the  back- 
ground stood  some  hundred  officials  and  grandees. 

After  a  long  silence  Cambyses  raised  his  eyes,  fixed  a  wither- 
ing look  on  his  fettered  brother,  and  said,  in  a  dull,  hollow 
voice :  "High-priest,  tell  us  what  awaits  the  man  who  deceives 
his  brother,  dishonors  and  offends  his  king  and  darkens  his 
own  heart  by  black  lies." 

Oropastes  came  forward  and  answered:  "As  soon  as  such 
a  one  is  proved  guilty  a  death  full  of  torment  awaits  him  in 
this  world,  and  an  awful  sentence  on  the  bridge  Chinvat;f  for 
he  has  transgressed  the  highest  commands,  and,  by  committing 
three  crimes,  has  forfeited  the  mercy  of  our  law,  which  com- 

*The  dangerous  disease  to  which  Herodotus  says  Cambyses  had 
been  subject  from  his  birth  and  which  was  called  "sacred"  by  some 
can  scarcely  be  other  than  epilepsy.  See  "Herod.,"  iii,  33. 

tOn  the  third  day  after  death  at  the  rising  of  the  bright  sun,  the 
souls  are  conducted  by  divs  to  the  bridge  of  Chinvat,  where  they  are 
questioned  as  to  their  past  lives  and  conduct.  "Vendid.  Fargard," 
xix,  93.  On  that  spot  the  two  supernatural  powers  fight  for  the  soul. 
"Vendid.  Farg.,"  vii,  132.  In  this  struggle  the  soul  of  the  good,  the 
odor  of  which  is  feared  by  the  divs  as  wolves  by  sheep,  is  helped  by 
the  yazatas,  or  pure  spirits,  and  enters  heaven  victorious,  while  the 
soul  of  the  impure  finds  no  help  and  is  dragged  down,  bound,  into  hell 
by  the  Div  Vizaresho.  Different,  and  according  to  Rogge,  more  beau- 
tiful (?)  conceptions  of  this  idea  are  to.be  found  in  Tiele's  "D.  Godsd. 
v.  Zarathustra,"  p.  251. 


272  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

mands  that  his  life  shall  be  granted  to  the  man  who  has  sinned 
but  once,  even  though  he  be  only  a  slave."* 

"Then  Bartja  has  deserved  death.  Lead  him  away,  guards, 
and  strangle  him!  Take  him  away!  Be  silent,  wretch!  Never 
will  I  listen  to  that  smooth,  hypocritical  tongue  again,  or  look 
at  those  treacherous  eyes.  They  come  from  the  divs  and  de- 
lude everyone  with  their  wanton  glances.  Off  with  him, 
guards." 

Bischen,  the  captain,  came  up  to  obey  the  order,  but  at  the 
same  moment  Croesus  threw  himself  at  the  king's  feet,  touched 
the  floor  with  his  forehead,  raised  his  hands,  and  cried:  "May 
thy  days  and  years  bring  naught  but  happiness  and  prosperity; 
may  Auramazda  pour  down  all  the  blessings  of  this  life  upon 
thee,  and  the  Amesha  gpentaf  be  the  guardians  of  thy  throne ! 
Do  not  close  thine  ear  to  the  words  of  the  aged,  but  remember 
that  thy  father,  Cyrus,  appointed  me  to  be  thy  counselor.  Thou 
art  about  to  slay  thy  brother;  but  I  say  unto  thee,  do  not  in- 
dulge anger;  strive  to  control  it.  It  is  the  duty  of  kings  and 
of  the  wise  not  to  act  without  due  inquiry.  Beware  of  shedding 
a  brother's  blood;  the  smoke  thereof  will  rise  to  heaven  and 
become  a  cloud  that  must  darken  the  days  of  the  murderer, 
and  at  last  cast  down  the  lightnings  of  vengeance  on  his  head. 
But  I  know  that  thou  desirest  justice,  not  murder.  Act,  then, 
as  those  who  have  to  pronounce  a  sentence,  and  hear  both 
sides  before  deciding.  When  this  has  been  done,  if  the  crim- 
inal is  proved  guilty  and  confesses  his  crime,  the  smoke  of  his 
blood  will  rise  to  heaven  as  a  friendly  shadow7  instead  of  a  dark- 
ening cloud,  and  thou  wilt  have  earned  the  fame  of  a  just  judge 
instead  of  deserving  the  divine  judgments." 

Cambyses  listened  in  silence,  made  a  sign  to  Bischen  to 
retire,  and  commanded  Boges  to  repeat  his  accusation. 

The  eunuch  made  an  obeisance,  and  began:  "I  was  ill  and 
obliged  to  leave  the  Egyptian  and  the  hanging-gardens  in  the 
care  of  my  colleague,  Kandaules,  who  has  paid  for  his  negli- 
gence with  his  life.  Finding  myself  better  toward  evening, 
I  went  up  to  the  hanging-gardens  to  see  if  everything  was  in 

*"Herod.,"  i,  137. 

tThe  Amesha  gpenta,  "holy  immortal  ones,"  may  be  compared  to 
the  archangels  of  the  Hebrews.  They  surround  the  throne  of  Aura- 
mazda and  symbolize  the  highest  virtues.  Later  we  find  their  num- 
ber fixed  at  six. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  273 

order  there  and  also  to  look  at  the  rare  flower  which  was  to 
blossom  in  the  night.  The  king  (Auramazda,  grant  him  vic- 
tory!) had  commanded  that  the  Egyptian  should  be  more 
strictly  watched  than  usual  because  she  had  dared  to  send  the 
noble  Bartja " 

"Be  silent,"  interrupted  the  king,  "and  keep  to  the  matter 
in  hand." 

"Just  as  the  Tistar  star  was  rising  I  came  into  the  garden 
and  staid  some  time  there  with  these  noble  Achaemenidae, 
the  high-priest  and  the  king,  Croesus,  looking  at  the  blue  lily, 
which  was  marvelously  beautiful.  I  then  called  my  colleague, 
Kandaules,  and  asked  him,  in  the  presence  of  these  noble  wit- 
nesses, if  everything  was  in  order  He  affirmed  that  this  was 
the  case,  and  added  that  he  had  just  come  from  Nitetis;  that  she 
had  wept  the  whole  day,  and  neither  tasted  food  nor  drink. 
Feeling  anxious  lest  my  noble  mistress  should  become  worse, 
I  commissioned  Kandaules  to  fetch  a  physician,  and  was  just 
on  the  point  of  leaving  the  noble  Achaemenidae,  in  order  in 
person  to  ascertain  my  mistress'  state  of  health,  when  I  saw  in 
the  moonlight  the  figure  of  a  man.  I  was  so  ill  and  weak  that 
I  could  hardly  stand,  and  had  no  one  near  to  help  me  except 
the  gardener. 

"My  men  were  on  guard  at  the  different  entrances,  some 
distance  from  us. 

"I  clapped  my  hands  to  call  some  of  them,  but,  as  they  did 
not  come,  I  went  nearer  to  the  house  myself,  under  the  pro- 
tection of  these  noblemen.  The  man  was  standing  by  the 
window  of  the  Egyptian  princess'  apartment,  and  uttered  a 
low  whistle  when  he  heard  us  coming  up.  Another  figure 
appeared  directly — clearly  Recognizable  in  the  bright  moon- 
light— sprang  out  of  the  sleeping-room  window  and  came 
toward  us  with  her  companion. 

"I  could  hardly  believe  my  eyes  on  discovering  that  the  in- 
truder was  no  other  than  the  noble  Bartja.  A  fig  tree  co'ncealed 
us  from  the  fugitives,  but  we  could  distinctly  see  them,  as  they 
passed  us  at  a  distance  of  not  mere  than  four  steps.  While  I 
was  thinking  whether  I  should  be  justified  in  arresting  a  son 
of  Cyrus,  Croesus  called  to  Bartja  and  the  two  figures  suddenly 
disappeared  behind  a  cypress.  No  one  but  your  brother  him- 
self can  possibly  explain  the  strange  way  in  which  he  disap- 
peared. I  went  at  once  to  search  the  house,  and  found  the 


274  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS, 

Egyptian  lying  unconscious  on  the  couch  in  her  sleeping- 
room." 

Everyone  listened  to  this  story  in  the  greatest  suspense. 
Cambyses  ground  his  teeth  and  asked,  in  a  voice  of  great, 
emotion:  "Can  you  testify  to  the  words  of  the  eunuch,  Hys- 
taspes?" 

"Yes." 

"Why  did  not  you  lay  hands  on  the  offender?" 

"We  are  soldiers,  not  policemen." 

"Or,  rather,  you  care  for  every  knave  more  than  for  your 
king." 

"We  honor  our  king  and  abhor  the  criminal,  just  as  we 
formerly  loved  the  innocent  son  of  Cyrus." 

"Did  you  recognize  Bartja  distinctly?" 

"Yes." 

"And  you,  Croesus — can  you,  too,  give  no  other  answer?" 

"No!  I  fancied  I  saw  your  brother  in  the  moonlight  then 
as  clearly  as  I  see  him  now;  but  I  believe  we  must  have  been 
deceived  by  some  remarkable  likeness." 

Boges  grew  pale  at  these  words;  Cambyses,  however,  shook 
his  head  as  if  the  idea  did  not  please  him,  and  said:  "Whom 
am  I  to  believe,  then,  if  the  eyes  of  my  best  warriors  fail  them? 
and  who  would  wish  to  be  a  judge  if  testimony  such  as  yours 
is  not  to  be  considered  valid?" 

"Evidence  quite  as  weighty  as  ours  will  prove  that  we  must 
have  been  in  error." 

"Will  any  one  dare  to  give  evidence  in  favor  of  such  an 
outrageous  criminal?"  asked  Cambyses,  springing  up  and 
stamping  his  foot. 

"We  will,"  "I,"  "we,"  shouted  Araspes,  Darius,  Gyges  and 
Zopyrus  with  one  voice. 

"Traitors,  knaves!"  cried  the  king.  But  as  he  caught  sight 
of  Croesus'  warning  eye  fixed  upon  him  he  lowered  his  voice 
and  said:  "What  have  you  to  bring  forward  in  favor  of  this 
fellow?  Take  care  what  you  say  and  consider  well  what  pun- 
ishment awaits  perjurers." 

"We  know  that  well  enough,"  said  Araspes,  "and  yet  we  are 
ready  to  swear  by  Mithras  that  we  have  not  left  Bartja  or  his 
garden  one  moment  since  we  came  back  from  hunting." 

<fAs  for  me,"  said  Darius,  "I,  the  son  of  Hystaspes,  have 
especially  convincing  evidence  to  give  in  favor  of  your  broth- 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  275 

er's  innocence;  I  watched  the  rising  of  the  Tistar  star  with 
him;  and  this,  according  to  Boges,  was  the  very  star  that  shone 
on  his  flight/' 

Hystaspes  gazed  on  his  son  in  astonishment  and  doubt  at 
hearing  these  words,  and  Cambyses  turned  a  scrutinizing  eye 
first  on  the  one  and  then  on  the  other  party  of  these  strange 
witnesses,  who  wished  so  much,  and  yet  found  it  so  impossible 
to  believe  one  another,  himself  unable  to  come  to  a  decision. 

Bartja,  who  till  now  had  remained  perfectly  silent,  looking 
down  sadly  at  his  chained  hands,  took  advantage  of  the  silence 
to  say,  making  at  the  same  time  a  deep  obeisance:  "May  I  be 
allowed  tQ  speak  a  few  words,  my  king?" 

'"Speak!" 

"From  our  father  we  learned  to  strive  after  that  which  was 
pure  and  good  only;  so  up  to  this  time  my  life  has  been  un- 
stained. If  you  have  ever  known  me  to  take  part  in  an  evil 
deed  you  have  a  right  not  to  believe  me;  but  if  you  find  no 
fault  in  me  then  trust  to  what  I  say,  and  remember  that  a  son 
of  Cyrus  would  rather  die  than  tell  a  lie.  I  confess  that  no 
judge  was  ever  placed  in  such  a  perplexing  position.  The  best 
men  in  your  kingdom  testify  against  one  another,  friend 
against  friend,  father  against  son.  But  I  tell  you  that  were 
the  entire  Persian  nation  to  rise  up  against  you  and  swear 
that  Cambyses  had  committed  this  or  that  evil  deed,  and  you 
were  to  say,  'I  did  not  commit  it,'  I,  Bartja,  would  give  all 
Persia  the  lie  and  exclaim:  'Ye  are  all  false  witnesses;  sooner 
could  the  sea  cast  up  fire  than  a  son  of  Cyrus  allow  his  mouth  to 
deal  in  lies.'  No,  Cambyses,  you  and  I  are  so  high-born  that 
no  one  but  yourself  can  bear  evidence  against  me;  and  you 
can  only  be  judged  out  of  your  own  mouth." 

Cambyses'  looks  grew  a  little  milder  on  hearing  these  words, 
and  his  brother  went  on :  "So  I  swear  to  you  by  Mithras,  and 
by  all  pure  spirits,  that  I  am  innocent.  May  my  life  become 
extinct  and  my  race  perish  from  off  the  earth  if  I  tell  you  a 
lie  when  I  say  that  I  have  not  once  set  foot  in  the  hanging- 
gardens  since  my  return!" 

Bartja's  voice  was  so  firm  and  his  tone  so  full  of  assurance 
as  he  uttered  this  oath  that  Cambyses  ordered  his  chains  to  be 
loosened,  and,  after  a  few  moments'  thought,  said:  "I  should 
like  to  believe  you,  for  I  cannot  bear  to  imagine  you  the  worst 
and  most  abandoned  of  men.  To-morrow  we  will  summon  the 


276  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

astrologers,  soothsayers  and  priests.  Perhaps  they  may  be 
able  to  discover  the  truth.  Can  you  see  any  light  in  this  dark- 
ness, Oropastes?" 

"Thy  servant  supposes  that  a  div  has  taken  upon  him  the 
form  of  Bartja  in  order  to  ruin  the  king's  brother  and  stain 
thine  own  royal  soul  with  the*  blood  of  thy  father's  son." 

Cambyses  and  everyone  present  nodded  their  assent  to 
this  proposition,  and  the  king  was  just  going  to  offer  his 
hand  to  Bartja,  when  a  staff-bearer  came  in  and  gave  the 
king  a  dagger.  A  eunuch  had  found  it  under  the  windows  of 
Nitetis'  sleeping-apartment. 

Cambyses  examined  the  weapon  carefully.  Its^  costly  hilt 
was  thickly  set  with  rubies  and  turquoises.  As  he  looked  he 
turned  pale,  and  dashed  the  dagger  on  the  ground  before 
Bartja  with  such  violence  that  the  stones  fell  out  of  their 
setting. 

"This  is  your  dagger,  you  wretch!"  he  shrieked,  seized  by 
the  same  violent  passion  as  before.  "This  very  morning  you 
used  it  to  give  the  last  thrust  to  the  wild  boar  that  I  had  mor- 
tally wounded.  Croesus,  you  ought  to  know  it,  too,  for  my 
father  brought  it  from  your  treasure-house  at  Sardis.  At  last 
you  are  really  convicted,  you  liar! — you  impostor!  The  divs 
require  no  weapons,  and  such  a  dagger  as  this  is  not  to  be 
picked  up  everywhere.  Ah,  ha !  you  are  feeling  in  your  girdle ! 
You  may  well  turn  pale;  your  dagger  is  gone." 

"Yes,  it  is  gone.     I  must  have  lost  it,  and  some  enemy — 

"Seize  him,  Bischen,  put  on  his  fetters!  Take  him  to  prison 
— the  traitor,  the  perjurer!  He  shall  be  strangled  to-morrowr. 
Death  is  the  penalty  of  perjury.  Your  heads  for  theirs,  you 
guards,  if  they  escape.  Not  one  word  more  will  I  hear;  away 
with  you,  you  perjured  villains!  Boges,  go  at  once  to  the 
hanging-gardens  and  bring  the  Egyptian  to  me.  Yet,  no,  I 
won't  see  the  serpent  again.  It  is  very  near  dawn  now.  and  at 
noon  she  shall  be  flogged  through  the  streets.  Then  I'll 

But  here  he  was  stopped  by  another  fit  of  epilepsy,  and 
sank  down  on  the  marble  floor  in  convulsions. 

At  this  fearful  moment  Kassandane  w'as  led  into  the  hall  by 
the  old  general  Megabyzus.  The  news  of  what  had  happened 
had  found  its  way  to  her  solitary  apartments,  and,  notwith- 
standing the  hour,  she  had  risen  in  order  to  try  and  discover 
the  truth  and  warn-  her  son  against  pronouncing  a  too  hasty 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  277 

decision.  She  believed  firmly  that  Bartja  and  Nitetis  were 
innocent,  though  she  could  not  explain  to  herself  what  had 
happened.  Several  times  she  tried  to  put  herself  in  communi- 
cation with  Nitetis,  but  without  avail.  At  last  she  had  been  her- 
self to  the  hanging-gardens,  but  the  guards  had  actually  had 
the  hardihood  to  refuse  her  admission. 

Croesus  went  at  once  to  meet  her,  told  her  what  had  hap- 
pened, suppressing  as  many  painful  details  as  possible,  con- 
firmed her  in  her  belief  of  the  innocence  of  the  accused,  and 
then  took  her  to  the  bedside  of  the  king. 

The  convulsions  had  not  lasted  long  this  time.  He  lay  on 
his  golden  bed,  under  purple  silk  coverlets,  pale  and  exhausted. 
His  blind  mother  seated  herself  at  his  side.  Croesus  and  Oro- 
pastes  took  their  station  at  the  foot  of  the  bed,  and,  in  another 
part  of  the  room,  four  physicians*  discussed  the  patient's 
condition  in  low  whispers. 

Kassandane  was  very  gentle  with  her  son ;  she  begged  him 
not  to  yield  to  passionate  anger,  and  to  remember  what  a  sad 
effect  every  such  outburst  had  on  his  health. 

''Yes,  mother,  you  are  right,"  answered  the  king,  smiling 
bitterly;  "I  see  that  I  must  get  rid  of  everything  that  rouses 
my  anger.  The  Egyptian  must  die,  and  my  perfidious  brother 
shall  follow  his  mistress." 

Kassandane  used  all  her  eloquence  to  convince  him  of  the 
innocence  of  the  accused,  and  to  pacify  his  anger,  but  neither 

*It  was  natural  that  medicine  should  be  carefully  studied  among  a 
people  who  set  such  a  high  value  upon  life  as  did  the  Persians.  Pliny, 
indeed  (xxx,  1),  maintains  that  the  whole  of  Zoroaster's  religion  was 
founded  on  the  science  of  medicine,  and  it  is  true  that  there  are  a 
great  many  medical  directions  to  be  found  in  the  Avesta.  In  the 
"Vendid.  Farg.,"  vii,  there  is  a  detailed  list  of  medical  fees.  The  phy- 
sician shall  treat  a  priest  for  a  pious  blessing  or  spell,  the  master  of  a 
house  for  a  small  draught  animal,  etc.,  the  lord  of  a  district  for  a  team 
of  four  oxen.  When  the  physician  cures  the  housewife  first,  a*female 
ass  shall  be  his  fee,  etc.,  etc.  We  read  in  the  same  Fargard  that  the 
physician  had  to  pass  a  kind  of  examination.  If  he  had  operated  thrice 
successfully  on  bad  men,  on  whose  bodies  he  had  been  permitted  to 
try  his  skill,  he  was  pronounced  "capable  forever."  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  three  evil  daevayacna  (worshipers  of  the  divs)  died  under  his 
hands,  he  was  pronounced  "incapable  of  healing  forevermore."  Pliny 
enumerates  a  multitude  of  strange  Magian  prescriptions.  The  Vendi- 
dad  mentions  the  art  of  healing  as  the  highest  attribute  of  Thrita,  a 
celebrated  mythical  hero  not  unknown  to  the  inhabitants  of  India, 
"Fargard,"  xx,  11. 


278  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCKSri. 

prayers,  tears,  nor  her  motherly  exhortations  could  in  the  least 
alter  his  resolution  to  rid  himself  of  these  murderers  of  his 
happiness  and  peace. 

At  last  he  interrupted  her  lamentations  by  saying:  "I  feel 
fearfully  exhausted;  I  cannot  bear  these  sobs  and  lamenta- 
tions any  longer.  Nitetis  has  been  proved  guilty.  A  man  was 
seen  to  leave  her  sleeping-apartment  in  the  night,  and  that 
man  was  not  a  thief,  but  the  handsomest  man  in  Persia,  and 
one  to  whom  she  had  dared  to  send  a  letter  yesterday  evening." 

"Do  you  know  the  contents  of  that  letter?"  asked  Croesus, 
coming  up  to  the  bed. 

"No;  it  was  written  in  Greek.  The  faithless  creature 
made  use  of  characters  which  no  one  at  this  court  can  read." 

"Will  you  permit  me  to  translate  the  letter?" 

Cambyses  pointed  to  a  small  ivory  box,  in  which  the 
ominous  piece  of  writing  lay,  saying:  "There  it  is;  read  it; 
but  do  not  hide  or  alter  a  single  word,  for  to-morrow  I  shall 
have  it  read  over  again  by  one  of  the  merchants  from  Sinope." 

Croesus'  hopes  revived;  he  seemed  to  breathe  again  as  he 
took  the  paper.  But  when  he  had  read  it  over  his  eyes  filled 
with  tears  and  he  murmured:  "The  fable  of  Pandora  is  only 
too  true;  I  dare  not  be  angry  any  longer  with  those  poets  who 
have  written  severely  against  women.*  Alas,  they  are  all  false 
and  faithless!  O  Kassandane,  how  the  gods  deceive  us!  They 
grant  us  the  gift  of  old  age,  only  to  strip  us  bare  like  trees  in 
the  winter,  and  show  us  that  all  our  fancied  gold  was  dross 
and  all  our  pleasant  and  refreshing  drinks  poison." 

Kassandane  wept  aloud,  and  tore  her  costly  robes,  but 
Cambyses  clinched  his  fist  while  Croesus  was  reading  the  fol- 
lowing words: 

"Nitetis,  daughter  of  Amasis  of  Egypt,  to  Bartja,  son  of  the 
great  Cyrus: 

"I  have  something  important  to  tell  you;  I  can  tell  it  to 
no  one  but  yourself.  To-morrow  I  hope  I  shall  meet  you  in 
your  mother's  apartments.  It  lies  in  your  power  to  comfort  a 
sad  and  loving  heart  and  to  give  it  one  happy  moment  before 
death.  I  have  a  great  deal  to  tell  you,  and  some  very  sad  news; 
I  repeat  that  I  must  see  you  soon." 

i 

*See  note  p.  102. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  279 

The  desperate  laughter  which  burst  from  her  son  cut  his 
mother  to  the  heart.  She  stooped  down  and  was  going  to  kiss 
him,  but  Cambyses  resisted  her  caresses,  saying:  "It  is  rather 
a  doubtful  honor,  mother,  to  be  one  of  your  favorites.  Bartja 
did  not  wait  to  be  sent  for  twice  by  that  treacherous  woman, 
and  has  disgraced  himself  by  swearing  falsely.  His  friends,  the 
flower  of  our  young  men,  have  covered  themselves  with  in- 
delible infamy  for  his  sake;  and  through  him  your  best-beloved 
daughter — but,  no,  Bartja  had  no  share  in  the  corruption  of 
that  fiend  in  Peri's  form.  Her  life  was  made  up  of  hypocrisy 
and  deceit,  and  her  death  shall  prove  that  I  know  how  to  pun- 
ish. Now  leave  me,  for  I  must  be  alone." 

They  had  scarcely  left  the  room  when  he  sprang  up  and 
paced  backward  and  forward  like  a  madman  till  the  first  crow 
of  the  sacred  bird  parodar.*  When  the  sun  had  risen  he  threw 
himself  on  his  bed  again  and  fell  into  a  sleep  that  was  like  a 
swoon. 


Meanwhile  Bartja  had  written  Sappho  a  farewell  letter  and 
was  sitting  over  the  wine  with  his  fellow-prisoners  and  their 
elder  friend,  Araspes.  "Let  us  be  merry,"  said  Zopyrus,  "for 
I  believe  it  will  soon  be  up  with  all  our  merriment.  I  would 
lay  my  life  that  we  are  all  of  us  dead  by  to-morrow.  Pity  that 
men  haven't  got  more  than  one  neck;  if  we'd  two  I  would  not 
mind  \vagering  a  gold  piece  or  two  on  the  chances  of  our 
remaining  alive." 

"Zopyrus  is  quite  right,"  said  Araspes;  "we  will  make  merry 
and  keep  our  eyes  open;  who  knows  how  soon  they  may  be 
closed  forever." 

"Xo  one  need  be  sad  who  goes  to  his  death  as  innocently 
as  we  do,"  said  Gyges.  "Here,  cup-bearer,  fill  my  goblet!" 

"Ah,  Bartja  and  Darius!"  cried  Zopyrus,  seeing  the  two 
speaking  in  a  low  voice  together,  "there  you  are  at  your  secrets 
again.  Come  to  us  and  pass  the  wine-cup.  By  Mithras,  I  can 
truly  say  I  never  wished  for  death,  but  now  I  quite  look  forward 

*See  ncte  p.  253. 


280  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

to  the  black  Azis*  because  he  is  going  to  take  us  all  together. 
Zopyrus  would  rather  die  with  his  friends  than  live  without 
them." 

"But  the  great  point  is  to  try  and  explain  what  has  really 
happened,"  said  Darius. 

"It's  all  the  same  to  me,"  said  Zopyrus,  "whether  I  die  with 
or  without  an  explanation  so  long  as  I  know  I  am  innocent 
and  have  not  deserved  the  punishment  of  perjury.  Try  and 
get  us  some  golden  goblets,  Bischen;  the  wine  has  no  flavor 
out  of  these  miserable  brass  mugs.  Cambyses  surelv  would  not 
wish  us  to  suffer  from  poverty  in  our  lasf  hours,  though  he 
does  forbid  our  fathers  and  friends  to  visit  us." 

"It  is  not  the  metal  that  the  cup  is  made  of,"  said  Bartja, 
"but  the  wormwood  of  death  that  gives  the  wine  its  bitter 
taste." 

"No,  really,  you're  quite  out  there,"  exclaimed  Zopyrus. 
"Why,  I  had  nearly  forgotten  that  strangling  generally  causes 
death."  As  he  said  this,  he  touched  Gyges,  and  whispered: 
"Be  as  cheerful  as  you  can.  Don't  you  see  that  it's  very  hard 
for  Bartja  to  take  leave  of  this  world?  What  were  you  saying, 
Darius?" 

"That  I  thought  Oropastes'  idea  the  only  admissible  one-- 
that  a  div  had  taken  the  likeness  of  Bartja  and  visited  the 
Egyptian  in  order  to  ruin  us." 

"Folly!    I  don't  believe  in  such  things." 

"But  don't  you  remember  the  legend  of  the  div  who  took 
the  beautiful  form  of  a  minstrel  and  appeared  before  King 
Kawus?" 

"Of  course,"  cried  Araspes.  "Cyrus  had  this  legend  so  often 
recited  at  the  banquets  that  I  know  it  by  heart.  Would  you 
like  to  hear  it?" 

"Yes,  yes,  let  us  hear  it!"  cried  the  young  men.  Araspes 
thought  a  moment,  and  then  began,  half-singing,  half-reciting, 
to  tell  how  it  came  to  pass  that  Kawus  became  king  in  his 
father's  room,  and  the  whole  world  was  subject  to  him,  and 
how,  "when  he  beheld  the  earth  tremble  at  his  approach  arid 
saw  rich  heaps  of  treasure  that  lay  round  about  his  throne — 
the  golden  chains,  the  strings  of  pearls,  the  crown  of  gold,  with 

*An  evil  spirit  who  brings  death  to  men.  "Vendid.,"  xviii,  45. 
"Azis,  who  was  created  by  the  Daevas,  may  come  to  me.  He  appears 
in  order  to  snatch  me  from  the  world." 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  281 

its  sparkling  jewels,  and  the  strong  horses  of  Thasir — he 
thought  that  none  like  him  could  be  found  upon  earth.  And  as 
he  sat  one  day  drinking  wine  in  an  arbor  of  roses  adorned 
with  gold,  a  div,  that  had  taken  upon  him  the  form  of  a  min- 
strel, came  to  one  of  his  courtiers  and  besought  admittance  to 
the  shah  thus:  'I  am  a  singer  from  Masenderan ;*  if  it  please 
the  shah,  let  him  allow  me  to  approach  his  throne.'  And 
Kawus  answered:  'Let  him  draw  near  at  once  and  take  a 
place  among  my  minstrels.'  Then  the  singer  came  before  the 
king,  struck  the  chords  of  his  lyre  and  sang  of  the  lovely  land 
Masenderan  : 

"  'Praise  to  my  land  Masenderan!  All  blessings  rest  upon 
her  meadows  and  gardens,  where  the  roses  never  cease  to 
bloom;  upon  her  hills,  where  the  tulips  and  anemones  are 
ever  bright;  the  land  whose  air  is  always  pure,  whose  fields 
are  always  green,  whose  spring  is  never  driven  forth  by  frost 
or  burning  heat.  The  nightingale  sings  always  in  that  land,  the 
deer  bounds  gladly  a'er  its  hills  and  vales,  the  air  is  full  of  sweet 
perfumes  and  gorgeous  colors  meet  the  eyes.  The  streams  run 
all  with  waters  sweet,  whose  scent  makes  glad  the  heart  of 
man.  The  tulips  bloom  in  Bahman,  Ader,  Ferwerdin  and  Di;f 
they  never  fade.  The  banks  of  all  her  brooks  are  green 
throughout  the  year;  the  hunter  finds  the  falcon  ever  near. 
My  land  is  strewn  with  jewels,  silk  and  gold  in  all  her  length 
and  breadth:  her  priests  wear  golden  diadems,  her  nobles 
girdles  wrought  in  finest  gold.  And  he  that  gains  admittance 
to  that  land  has  found  the  highest  joy  that  lives  below.'J 


*Mazenderan  (probably  more  correct  than  the  Masenderan  of 
Schack),  a  district  in  the  northern  borders  of  Iran,  is,  on  the  one 
hand,  praised  in  the  legends  of  the  heroes  for  its  fertility,  but  on  the 
other,  is  spoken  of  as  the  abode  of  evil  spirits.  To  this  day  the  district 
is  blessed  with  an  almost  tropical  vegetation  and  its  nobles  are  proud 
of  calling  themselves  "divs."  See  Ritter,  "Erdkunde,"  viii,  426. 

fMay,  March,  July  and  April. 

IThese  words  are  taken  from  a  beautiful  song  in  Firdusi's  "Book  of 
Kings,"  which  has  been  very  well  translated  into  German  by  v. 
Schack.  Firdusi  was  born  about  940  A.  D.  Ancient  Persian  history 
is  the  subject  of  his  immortal  epic  poems.  The  Kai  Kawus  who  was 
lured  to  Mazenderan  by  the  divs  belonged  to  the  family  of  the  Kaja- 
nide,  which  must  not,  as  some  scholars  suppose,  be  placed  on  a  level 
with  the  Achaemenidae,  but  must  be  regarded  either  as  purely  myth- 
ical, or  at  least  as  having  reigned  earlier  than  the  Achaemenidae.  We 


282  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"And  Kai  Kawus  hearkened  to  the  words  of  the  disguised 
div  and  went  to  Masenderan,  and  was  beaten  there  by  the  divs 
and  deprived  of  his  eyesight." 

"But,"  broke  in  Darius,  "Rustem,  the  great  hero,  came  and 
conquered  Erscheng  and  the  other  bad  spirits,  freed  the  cap- 
tives and  restored  sight  to  the  blind  by  dropping  the  blood  of 
the  slaughtered  divs  into  their  eyes.  And  so  it  will  be  with  us, 
my  friends.  We  shall  be  set  free,  and  the  eyes  of  Cambyses 
and  of  our  blind  and  infatuated  fathers  will  be  opened  to  see 
our  innocence.  Listen,  Bischen;  if  we  really  should  be  exe- 
cuted, go  to  the  Magi,  the  Chaldeans,  and  Xebenchari,  the 
Egyptian,  and  tell  them  they  had  better  not  study  the  stars 
any  longer,  for  that  those  very  stars  had  proved  themselves 
liars  and  deceivers  to  Darius." 

"Yes,"  interrupted  Araspes,  "I  always  said  that  dreams  were 
the  only  real  prophecies.  Before  Abradatas  .fell  in  the  battle  of 
Sardis,  the  peerless  Panthea  dreamed  that  she  saw  him  pierced 
by  a  Lydian  arrow." 

"You  cruel  fellow!"  exclaimed  Zopyrus.  "Why  do  you  re- 
mind us  that  it  is  much  more  glorious  to  die  in  battle  than  to 
have  our  necks  wrung  off." 

"Quite  right,"  answered  the  elder  man;  "I  confess  that  I 
have  seen  many  a  death  which  I  should  prefer  to  our  own — 
indeed,  to  life  itself.  Ah,  boys,  there  was  a  time  when  things 
went  better  than  they  do  now." 

"Tell  us  something  about  those  times." 

"And  tell  us  why  you  never  married.  It  won't  matter  to  you 
in  the  next  world,  if  we  do  let  out  your  secret." 

"There's  no  secret;  any  of  your  own  fathers  could  tell  you 
what  you  want  to  hear  from  me.  Listen,  then.  When  I  was 
young,*  I  used  to  amuse  myself  with  women,  but  I  laughed  at 
the  idea  of  love.  It  occurred,  however,  that  Panthea,  the 
most  beautiful  of  all  women,  fell  into  our  hands,  and  Cyrus 
gave  her  into  my  charge,  because  I  had  always  boasted  that 
my  heart  was  invulnerable.  I  saw  her  every  day,  and  learned, 

have  ventured  to  introduce  the  words  of  a  poet  who  lived  so  long  after 
the  date  of  our  story,  because  his  poems  are  strictly  founded  on  the 
ancient  Persian  traditions  and  are  thoroughly  Persian. 

"The  story  of  Panthea,  Abradatas  and  Araspes  is  given  by  Xeno- 
phon  in  his  Cyropaedia  with  a  strong  Greek  coloring.  He  probably 
invented  this  romance  in  honor  of  his  hero,  Cyrus.  Xenoph., 
"Cyrop.,"  v. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  283 

my  friends,  that  love  is  stronger  than  a  man's  will.  However, 
she  refused  all  my  offers,  induced  Cyrus  to  remove  me  from  my 
office  near  her  and  to  accept  her  husband  Abradatas  as  an  ally. 
When  her  handsome  husband  went  out  to  the  war,  this  high- 
minded,  faithful  woman  decked  him  out  with  all  her  own  jewels 
and  told  him  that  the  noble  conduct  of  Cyrus,  in  treating  her 
like  a  sister,  when  she  was  his  captive,  could  only  be  repaid 
by  the  most  devoted  friendship  and  heroic  courage.  Abradatas 
agreed  with  her,  fought  for  Cyrus  like  a  lion,  and  fell.  Panthea 
killed  herself  by  his  dead  body.  Her  servants,  on  hearing  of 
this,  put  an  end  to  their  own  lives,  too,  at  the  grave  of  this 
best  of  mistresses.  Cyrus  shed  tears  over  this  noble  pair,  and 
had  a  stone  set  up  to  their  memory,  which  you  can  see  near 
Sardis.  On  it  are  the  simple  words:  To  Panthea,  Abradatas, 
and  the  most  faithful  of  servants.'  You  see,  children,  the  man 
who  had  loved  such  a  woman  could  never  care  for  another." 

The  young  men  listened  in  silence,  and  remained  some  time 
after  Araspes  had  finished  without  uttering  a  word.  At  last 
Bartja  raised  his  hands  to  heaven  and  cried:  "Oh,  thou  great 
Auramazda!  why  dost  thou  not  grant  us  a  glorious  end  like 
Abradatas?  Why  must  we  die  a  shameful  death  like  mur- 
derers?" 

As  he  said  this  Croesus  came  in,  fettered  and  led  by  whip- 
bearers.  The  friends  rushed  to  him  with  a  storm  of  questions, 
and  Bartja,  too,  went  up  to  embrace  the  man  who  had  been  so 
long  his  tutor  and  guide.  But  the  old  man's  cheerful  face  was 
severe  and  serious,  and  his  eyes,  generally  so  mild,  had  a 
gloomy,  almost  threatening  expression.  He  waved  the  prince 
coldly  back,  saying,  in  a  voice  which  trembled  with  pain  and 
reproach:  "Let  my  hand  go,  you  infatuated  boy!  you  are  not 
worth  all  the  love  I  have  hitherto  felt  for  you.  You  have  de- 
ceived your  brother  in  a  fourfold  manner,  duped  your  friends, 
betrayed  that  poor  child  who  is  waiting  for  you  in  Naukratis, 
and  poisoned  the  heart  of  Amasis'  unhappy  daughter." 

Bartja  listened  calmly  till  he  heard  the  word  "deceived;" 
then  his  hand  clinched,  and,  stamping  his  foot,  he  cried: 
"But  for  your  age  and  infirmities,  and  the  gratitude  I  owe  you, 
old  man,  these  slanderous  words  would  be  your  last." 

Croesus  heard  this  outbreak  of  just  indignation  unmoved, 
and  answered:  "This  foolish  rage  proves  that  you  and  Cam- 
bysos  have  the  same  blood  in  your  veins,  It  would  become  you 


284  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

much  better  to  repent  of  your  crimes  and  beg  your  old  friend's 
forgiveness,  instead  of  adding  ingratitude  to  the  unheard-of 
baseness  of  your  other  deeds." 

At  these  words  Bartja's  anger  gave  way.  His  clinched 
hands  sank  down  powerless  at  his  side,  and  his  cheeks  became 
pale  as  death. 

These  signs  of  sorrow  softened  the  old  man's  indignation. 
His  love  was  strong  enough  to  embrace  the  guilty  as  well  as 
the  innocent  Bartja,  and  taking  the  young  man's  right  hand 
in  both  his  own,  he  looked  at  him  as  a  father  would  who  finds 
his  son  wounded  on  the  battlefield,  and  said:  "Tell  me,  my 
poor,  infatuated  boy,  how  was  it  that  your  pure  heart  fell  away 
so  quickly  to  the  evil  power?" 

Bartja  shuddered.  The  blood  came  back  to  his  face,  but 
these  words  cut  him  to  the  heart.  For  the  first  time  in  his  life 
his  belief  in  the  justice  of  the  gods  forsook  him. 

He  called  himself  the  victim  of  a  cruel,  inexorable  fate,  and 
felt  like  a  hunted  animal  driven  to  its  last  gasp  and  hearing  the 
dogs  and  sportsmen  fast  coming  nearer.  He  had  a  sensitive, 
childlike  nature,  which  did  not  yet  know  how  to  meet  the  hard 
strokes  of  fate.  His  body  and  his  physical  courage  had  been 
hardened  against  bodily  and  physical  enemies ;  but  his  teachers 
had  never  told  him  how  to  meet  a  hard  lot  in  life;  for  Cambyses 
and  Bartja  had  seemed  destined  only  to  drink  out  of  the  cup 
of  happiness  and  joy. 

Zopyrus  could  not  bear  to  see  his  friend  in  tears.  He  re- 
proached the  old  man  angrily  with  being  unjust  and  severe. 
Gyges'  looks  were  full  of  entreaty,  and  Araspes  stationed  him- 
self between  the  old  man  and  the  youth,  as  if  to  ward  off  the 
blame  of  the  elder  from  cutting  deeper  into  the  sad  and  grieved 
heart  of  the  younger  man.  Darius,  however,  after  having 
watched  them  for  some  time,  came  up  with  quiet  deliberation 
to  Croesus,  and  said:  "You  continue  to  distress  and  offend 
one  another,  and  yet  the  accused  does  not  seem  to  know  with 
what  offense  he  is  charged,  nor  will  the  accuser  hearken  to  his 
defense.  Tell  us,  Croesus,  by  the  friendship  which  has  sub- 
sisted between  us  up  to  this  day,  what  has  induced  you  to 
judge  Bartja  so  harshly,  when  only  a  short  time  ago  you  be- 
lieved in  his  innocence?" 

The  old  man  told  at  once  what  Darius  desired  to  know — that, 
he  had  seen  a  letter,  written  in  Nitetis'  own  hand,  in  which  she 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  285 

made  a  direct  confession  of  her  love  to  Bartja  and  asked  him 
to  meet  her  alone.  The  testimony  of  his  own  eyes  and  of  the 
first  men  in  the  realm,  nay,  even  the  dagger  found  under  Nite- 
tis'  windows,  had  not  been  able  to  convince  him  that  his 
favorite  was  guilty;  but  this  letter  had  gone  like  a  burning 
flash  into  his  heart  and  destroyed  the  last  remnant  of  his  belief 
in  the  virtue  and  purity  of  woman.. 

"I  left  the  king/'  he  concluded,  "perfectly  convinced  that 
a  sinful  intimacy  must  subsist  between  your  friend  and  the 
Egyptian  princess,  whose  heart  I  had  believed  to  be  a  mirror 
for  goodness  and  beauty  alone.  Can  you  find  fault  with  me 
for  blaming  him  who  so  shamefully  stained  this  clear  mirror, 
and  with  it  his  own  not  less  spotless  soul?" 

"But  how  can  I  prove  my  innocence?"  cried  Bartja,  wring- 
ing his  hands.  "If  you  loved  me  you  would  believe  me;  if 
you  really  cared  for  me " 

"My  boy!  in  trying  to  save  your  life  only  a  few  minutes 
ago  I  forfeited  my  own.  When  I  heard  that  Cambyses  had 
really  resolved  on  your  death  I  hastened  to  him  with  a  storm 
of  entreaties;  but  these  were  of  no  avail,  and  then  I  was  pre- 
sumptuous enough  to  reproach  him  bitterly  in  his  irritated 
state  of  mind.  The  weak  thread  of  his  patience  broke,  and 
in  a  fearful  passion  he  commanded  the  guards  to  behead  me 
at  once.  I  was  seized  directly  by  Giv,  one  of  the  whip-bearers ; 
but  as  the  man  is  under  obligations  to  me  he  granted  me 
my  life  until  this  morning,  and  promised  to  conceal  the  post- 
ponement of  the  execution.  I  am  glad,  my  sons,  that  I  shall 
not  outlive  you,  and  shall  die  an  innocent  man  by  the  side  of 
the  guilty."  ' 

The  last  words  roused  another  storm  of  contradiction. 

Again  Darius  remained  calm  and  quiet  in  the  midst  of  the 
tumult.  He  repeated  once  more  the  story  of  the  whole  evening 
exactly,  to  prove  that  it  was  impossible  Bartja  could  have 
committed  the  crime  laid  to  his  charge.  He  then  called  on 
the  accused  himself  to  answer  the  charge  of  disloyalty  and 
perfidy.  Bartja  rejected  the  idea  of  an  understanding  with 
Nitetis  in  such  short,  decided  and  convincing  words  and  con- 
firmed his  assertion  with  such  a  fearful  oath  that  Croesus' 
persuasion  of  his  guilt  first  wavered,  then  vanished,  and  when 
Bartja  had  ended  he  drew  a  deep  breath,  like  a  man  deliv- 
ered from  a  heavy  burden,  and  clasped  him  in  his  arms. 


286  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

But  with  all  their  efforts  they  could  come  to  no  explana< 
tion  of  what  had  really  happened.  In  one  thing,  however, 
they  were  all  agreed:  that  Nitetis  loved  Bartja  and  had  writ- 
ten the  letter  with  a  wrong  intention. 

"No  one  who  saw  her,"  cried  Darius,  "when  Cambyses 
announced  that  Bartja  had  chosen  a  wife,  could  doubt  for  a 
moment  that  she  was  in  ^ove  with*  him.  When  she  let  the 
goblet  fall  I  heard  PKaedime's  father  say  that  the  Egyptian 
women  seemed  to  take  a  great  interest  in  the  affairs  of  their 
brothers-in-law." 

While  they  were  talking  the  sun  rose  and  shone  pleasantly 
into  the  prisoners'  room. 

Bartja  murmured:  "Mithras  means  to  make  our  .parting 
difficult." 

"No,"  answered  Croesus,  "he  only  means  to  light  vis  kindly 
on  our  way  into  eternity." 


CHAPTER  XX. 


The  innocent  originator  of  all  this  complicated  misery  had 
passed  many  a  wretched  hour  since  the  birthday  banquet. 
Since  those  harsh  words  with  which  Cambyses  had  sent  her 
from  the  hall,  not  the  smallest  fragment  of  news  had  reached 
her  concerning  either  her  angry  lover  or  his  mother  and 
sister.  Not  a  day  had  passed  since  her  arrival  at  Babylon 
that  had  not  been  spent  with  Kassandane  and  Atossa;  but 
now,  on  her  desiring  to  be  carried  to  them,  that  she  might 
explain  her  strange  conduct,  her  new  guard,  Kandaules,  for- 
bade her  abruptly  to  leave  the  house.  She  had  thought  that 
a  free  and  full  account  of  the  contents  of  her  letter  from  home 
would  clear  up  all  these  misunderstandings.  She  fancied  she 
saw  Cambyses  holding  out  his  hand  as  if  to  ask  forgiveness 
for  his  hastiness  and  foolish  jealousy.  And  then  a  joyful  feel- 
ing stole  into  her  mind  as  she  remembered  a  sentence  she 
had  once  heard  Ibykus  say:  "As  fever  attacks  a  strong  man 
more  violently  than  one  of  weaker  constitution,  so  a  heart 
that  loves  strongly  and  deeply  can  be  far  more  awfully  tor- 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  287 

mented  by  jealousy  than  one  which  nas  been  only  superfi- 
cially seized  by  passion." 

If  this  great  connoisseur  in  love  were  right,  Cambyses  must 
love  her  passionately,  or  his  jealousy  could  not  have  caught 
fire  so  quickly  and  fearfully.  Sad  thoughts  about  her  home, 
however,  and  dark  forebodings  of  the  future  would  mix  with 
this  confidence  in  Cambyses'  love,  and  she  could  not  shut 
them  out.  Midday  came,  the  sun  stood  high  and  burning 
in  the  sky,  but  no  news  came  from  those  she  loved  so  well, 
and  a  feverish  restlessness  seized  her  which  increased  as  night 
came  on.  In  the  twilight  Boges  came  to  her  and  told  her, 
with  bitter  scorn,  that  her  letter  to  Bartja  had  come  into  the 
king's  hands,  and  that  the  gardener's  boy  who  brought  it 
had  been  executed.  The  tortured  nerves  of  the  princess  could 
not  resist  this  fresh  blow,  and  before  Boges  left  he  carried  the 
poor  girl  senseless  into  her  sleeping-room,  the  door  of  which 
he  barred  carefully. 

A  few  minutes  later  two  men,  one  old,  the  other  young, 
came  up  through  the  trap-door  which  Boges  had  examined 
so  carefully  two  davs  before.  The  old  man  remained  outside, 
crouching  against  the  palace  wall ;  a  hand  was  seen  to  beckon 
from  the  window,  the  youth  obeyed  the  signal,  swung  him- 
self over  the  ledge  and  into -the  room  at  a  bound.  Then  words 
of  love  were  exchanged,  the  names  of  Gaumata  and  Mandane 
whispered  softly,  kisses  and  vows  given  and  received.  At 
last  the  old  man  clapped  his  hands.  The  youth  obeyed,  kissed 
and  embraced  Nitetis'  waiting-maid  once  more,  jumped  out 
of  the  window  into  the  garden,  hurried  past  the  admirers  of 
the  blue  lily  who  were  just  coming  up,  slipped  with  his  com- 
panion into  the  trap-door  which  had  been  kept  open,  closed 
it  carefully  and  vanished. 

Mandane  hurried  to  the  room  in  which  her  mistress  gen- 
erally spent  the  evening.  She  was  well  acquainted  with  her 
habits  and  knew  that  every  evening,  when  the  stars  had  risen, 
Nitetis  was  accustomed  to  go  to  the  window  looking  toward 
the  Euphrates,  and  spend  hours  gazing  into  the  river  and 
over  the  plain;  and  that  at  that  time  she  never  needed  her 
attendance.  So  she  felt  quite  safe  from  fear  of  discovery  in 
this  quarter,  and,  knowing  she  was  under  the  protection  of 
the  chief  of  the  eunuchs  himself,  could  wait  for  her  lover 
calmly. 


288  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

But  scarcely  had  she  discovered  that  her  mistress  had 
fainted  when  she  heard  the  garden  filling  with  people,  a  con- 
fused sound  of  men's  and  eunuchs'  voices  and  the  notes  of 
the  trumpet  used  to  summon  the  sentries.  At  first  she  was 
frightened  and  fancied  her  lover  had  been  discovered,  but 
Boges  appearing  and  whispering:  "He  has  escaped  safely," 
she  at  once  ordered  the  other  attendants  whom  she  had  ban- 
ished to  the  women's  apartments  during  her  rendezvous,  and 
who  now  came  flocking  back,  to  carry  their  mistress  into  her 
sleeping-room,  and  then  began  using  all  the  remedies  she 
knew  of  to  restore  her  to  consciousness.  Nitetis  had  scarcely 
opened  her  eyes  when  Boges  came  in  followed  by  two  eunuchs, 
whom  he  ordered  to  load  her  delicate  arms  with  fetters. 

Nitetis  submitted;  she  could  not  utter  one  word,  not  even 
when  Boges  called  out  as  he  was  leaving  the  room:  "Make 
yourself  happy  in  your  cage,  my  little  imprisoned  bird.  They've 
just  been  telling  your  lord  that  a  royal  marten  has  been 
making  merry  in  your  dove-cote.  Farewell,  and  think  of  the 
poor  tormented  Boges  in  this  tremendous  heat  when  you  feel 
the  cool,  damp  earth.  Yes,  my  little  bird,  death  teaches  us 
to  know  our  real  friends,  and  so  I  won't  have  you  buried  in 
a  coarse  linen  sack,  but  in  a  soft  silk  shawl.  Farewell,  my 
darling!" 

The  poor,  heavily  afflicted  girl  trembled  at  these  words, 
and  when  the  eunuch  was  gone  begged  Mandane  to  tell  her 
what  it  all  meant.  The  girl,  instructed  by  Boges,  said  that 
Bartja  had  stolen  secretly  into  the  hanging-gardens  and  had 
been  seen  by  several  of  the  Achaemenidae  as  he  was  on  the 
point  of  getting  in  at  one  of  the  windows.  The  king  had  been 
told  of  his  brother's  treachery,  and  people  were  afraid  his 
jealousy  might  have  fearful  consequences.  The  frivolous  girl 
shed  abundant  tears  of  penitence  while  she  was  telling  the 
story,  and  Nitetis,  fancying  this  a  proof  of  sincere  love  and 
sympathy,  felt  cheered. 

When  it  was  over,  however,  she  looked  down  at  her  fetters 
in  despair,  and  it  was  long  before  she  could  think  of  her 
dreadful  position  quietly.  Then  she  read  her  letter  from 
home  again,  wrote  the  words,  "I  am  innocent,"  and  told  the 
sobbing  girl  to  give  the  little  note  containing  them  to  the  king's 
mother  after  her  own  death,  together  with  her  letter  from 
home.  After  doing  this  she  passed  a  wakeful  night,  which 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  289 

seemed  as  if  it  would  never  end.  She  remembered  that  in 
her  box  of  ointments  there  was  a  specific  for  improving  the 
complexion,  which  if  swallowed  in  a  sufficiently  large  quantity 
would  cause  death.  She  had  this  poison  brought  to  her,  and 
resolved  calmly  and  deliberately  to  take  her  own  life  directly 
the  executioner  should  draw  near.  From  that  moment  she 
took  pleasure  in  thinking  of  her  last  hour,  and  said  to  herself: 
"It  is  true  he  causes  my  death,  but  he  does  it  out  of  love." 
Then  she  thought  she  would  write  to  him  and  confess  all 
her  love.  He  should  not  receive  the  letter  until  she  was  dead, 
that  he  might  not  think  she  had  written  it  to  save  her  life. 
The  hope  that  this  strong,  inflexible  man  might  perhaps  shed 
tears  over  her  last  words  of  love  filled  her  with  intense 
pleasure. 

In  spite  of  her  heavy  fetters  she  managed  to  write  the  fol- 
lowing words:  "Cambyses  will  not  receive  this  letter  until 
I  am  dead.  It  is  to  tell  him  that  I  love  him  more  than  the 
gods,  the  world — yes,  more  than  my  own  young  life.  Kas- 
sandane  and  Atossa  must  think  of  me  kindly.  They  will  see 
from  my  mother's  letter  that  I  am  innocent,  and  that  it  was 
only  for  my  poor  sister's  sake  that  I  asked  to  see  Bartja. 
Boges  has  told  me  that  my  death  has  been  resolved  upon. 
When  the  executioner  approaches  I  shall  kill  myself.  I  com- 
mit this  crime  against  myself,  Cambyses,  to  save  you  from 
doing  a  disgraceful  deed." 

This  note  and  her  mother's  letter  she  gave  to  the  weeping 
Mandane  and  begged  her  to  give  both  to  Cambyses  when 
she  was  gone.  She  then  fell  on  her  knees  and  prayed  to  the 
gods  of  her  fathers  to  forgive  her  for  her  apostasy  from  them. 

Mandane  begged  her  to  remember  her  weakness  and  take 
some  rest,  but  she  answered:  "I  do  not  need  any  sleep, 
because,  you  know,  I  have  such  a  little  waking-time  still 
left  me." 

As  she  went  on  praying  and  singing  her  old  Egyptian 
hymns,  her  heart  returned  more  and  more  to  the  gods  of  her 
fathers  whom  she  had  denied  after  such  a  short  struggle. 
In  almost  all  the  prayers  with  which  she  was  acquainted  there 
was  a  reference  to  the  life  after  death.  In  the  nether  world, 
the  kingdom  of  Osiris,  where  the  forty-two  judges  of  the 
dead  pronounce  sentence  on  the  worth  of  the  soul  after  it 
has  been  weighed  by  the  goddess  of  truth  and  Thoth,  who 


290  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

holds  the  office  of  writer  in  heaven,  she  could  hope  to  meet 
her  dear  ones  again,  but  only  in  case  her  unjustified  soul 
were  not  obliged  to  enter  on  the  career  of  transmigration 
through  the  bodies  of  different  animals  and  her  body,  to 
whom  the  soul  had  been  intrusted,  remained  in  a  state  of  pres- 
ervation.* This  "if"  filled  her  with  a  feverish  restlessness. 
The  doctrine  that  the  well-being  of  the  soul  depended  on  the 
preservation  of  the  earthly  part  of  every  human  being  left 
behind  at  death  had  been  impressed  on  her  from  childhood. 
She  believed  in  this  error  which  had  built  pyramids  and  exca- 
vated rocks,  and  trembled  at  the  thought  that,  according  to 
the  Persian  custom,  her  body  would  be  thrown  to  the  dogs 
and  birds  of  prey,  and  so  given  up  to  the  powers  of  destruc- 
tion that  her  soul  must  be  deprived  of  every  hope  of  eternal 
life.  Then  the  thought  came  to  her,  should  she  prove  unfaith- 
ful to  the  gods  of  her  fathers  again,  and  once  more  fall  down 
before  these  new  spirits  of  light,  who  gave  the  dead  body 
over  to  the  elements  and  only  judged  the  soul?  And  so  she 
raised  her  hands  to  the  great  and  glorious  sun  who  with  his 

*See  note  pp.  70-71  on  the  Egyptian  dogma  which  made  the  welfare 
of  the  soul  dependent  on  the  preservation  of  the  body,  and  on  their 
views  of  the  life  to  come!  We  will  only  mention  here  that  as  the  dead 
were  to  obtain  the  use  of  their  limbs,  mouths,  hearts,  feet  and  hands 
again  in  the  nether  world,  it  was  necessary  that  these  should  be  pre- 
served. Whatever  was  deficient  in  the  body  would  be  deficient  also  in 
its  phantom  or  shadow.  They  certainly  seem  to  have  exhausted  the 
thought  of  immortality  in  every  direction.  As  the  sun  at  night  is 
not  dead,  but  only  gone  to  enlighten  the  lower  world,  so  the  Egyptian 
only  seems  to  die;  the  real  life  of  his  eternal  soul  only  begins  after  he 
has  taken  leave  of  the  earth.  The  soul  descends  into  the  lower  world, 
either  to  be  pronounced  just,  and  in  the  pure  light  of  the  east,  a  par- 
taker of  salvation,  to  sow  the  well-watered  fields  in  the  plains  of 
Anulu  or  Alu,  and  reap  without  trouble  that  which  it  has  sown,  until 
it  has  become  ripe  to  be  merged  in  Osiris  as  a  part  of  the  world-soul; 
or,  after  suffering  fearful  torments  in  the  purgatory  of  hell,  to  be 
scourged  out  of  the  lower  world  and  begin  its  wanderings  through  the 
bodies  of  animals.  In  one  of  the  papyri  of  the  dead  the  condemned 
soul  is  being  scourged  out  of  hades  in  the  form  of  a  sow.  After  these 
wanderings,  if  purified  and  pardoned,  it  is  at  last  permitted  to  unite 
itself  with  Osiris,  but  if  not,  must  again  begin  the  round  of  purifica- 
tion. Pythagoras  borrowed  his  doctrine  of  the  transmigration  of  souls 
from  the  Egyptians.  Plato  divested  it  of  its  bodily  garment  in  the 
delicate  manner  which  only  he  was  capable  of  doing,  and  transferred 
the  idea  into  the  spiritual  kingdom.  On  the  duration  of  the  soul's 
wanderings  and  the  Phoenix  period  see  Lepsius,  "Chronologic,"  p.  181. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  291 

golden,  sword-like  rays  was  just  dispersing  the  mists  that 
hung  over  the  Euphrates,  and  opened  her  lips  to  sing  her 
newly  learned  hymns  in  praise  of  Mithras;  but  her  voice  failed 
her — instead  of  Mithras  she  could  only  see  her  own  great  Ra, 
the  god  she  had  so  often  worshiped  in  Egypt,  and  instead  of 
a  Magian  hymn  could  only  sing  the  one  with  which  the 
Egyptian  priests  are  accustomed  to  greet  the  rising  sun.* 

This  hymn  brought  comfort  with  it,  and  as  she  gazed  on 
the  young  light,  the  rays  of  which  were  not  yet  strong  enough 
to  dazzle  her,  she  thought  of  her  childhood  and  the  tea*rs  gath- 
ered in  her  eyes.  Then  she  looked  down  over  the  broad  plain. 
There  was  the  Euphrates  with  his  yellow  waves,  looking  so 
like  the  Nile;  the  many  villages,  just  as  in  her  own  home, 
peeping  out  from  among  luxuriant  corn  fields  and  plantations 
of  fig  trees.  To  the  west  lay  the  royal  hunting  park;  she 
could  see  its  tall  cypresses  and  nut  trees  miles  away  in  the 
distance.  The  dew  was  glistening  on  .  every  little  leaf  and 
blade  of  grass,  and  the  birds  sang  deliciously  in  the  shrub- 
beries round  her  dwelling.  Now  and  then  a  gentle  breath  of 
wind  arose,  carrying  the  sweet  scent  of  the  roses  across  to  her, 
and  playing  in  the  tops  of  the  slender,  graceful  palms  which 
grew  in  numbers  on  the  banks  of  the  river  and  in  the  fields 
around. 

She  had  so  often  admired  these  beautiful  trees  and  compared 
them  to  dancing  girls  as  she  watched  the  wind  seizing  their 
heavy  tops  and  swaying  the  slenderous  stems  backward  and 
forward.  And  she  had  often  said  to  herself  that  here  must 
be  the  home  of  the  Phoenix,f  that  wonderful  bird  from  the 
land  of  palms,  who,  the  priests  said,  came  once  in  every  five 
hundred  years  to  the  temple  of  Ra  in  Heliopolis  and  burned 
himself  in  the  Sacred  incense  flames,  only  to  rise  again  from 
his  own  ashes  more  beautiful  than  before,  and,  after  three 
days,  to  fly  back  again  to  his  home  in  the  east.  While  she 
was  thinking  of  this  bird,  and  wishing  that  she  too  might 
rise  again  from  the  ashes  of  her  unhappiness  to  a  new  and 
still  more  glorious  joy,  a  large  bird  with  brilliant  plumage 
rose  out  of  the  dark  cypresses  which  concealed  the  palace  of 

*From  an  inscription  on  a  tomb  in  the  Berlin  museum,  first  treated 
by  E.  de  Rouge.  "Zeitschrift  der  Deutsch-Morgenlandischen  Gesell- 
schaft,"  iv,  375. 

fSee  note  pp.  66-67. 


!!!»:>  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

the  man  she  loved  and  who  had  made  her  so  miserable  and 
flew  toward  her.  It  rose  higher  and  higher,  and  at  last  set- 
tled on  a  palm  tree  close  to  her  window.  She  had  never  seen 
such  a  bird  before,  and  thought  it  could  not  possibly  be  a 
usual  one,  for  a  little  gold  chain  was  fastened  to  its  foot,  and 
its  tail  seemed  made  of  sunbeams  instead  of  feathers.  It  must 
be  Benno,*  the  bird  of  Ra!  She  fell  on  her  knees  again  and 
sang  with  deep  reverence  the  ancient  hymn  to  the  Phoenix, f 
never  once  turning  her  eyes  from  the  brilliant  bird. 

The  bird  listened  to  her  singing,  bending  his  little  head 
with  its  waving  plumes,  wisely  and  inquisitively,  from  side  to 
side,  and  flew  away  directly  she  ceased.  Nitetis  looked  after 
him  with  a  smile.  It  was  really  a  bird  of  paradise  that  had 
broken  the  chain  by  which  he  had  been  fastened  to  a  tree 
in  the  park,  but  to  her  he  was  the  Phoenix.  A  strange  cer- 
tainty of  deliverance  filled  her  heart;  she  thought  the  god  Ra 
had  sent  the  bird  to  her,  and  that  as  a  happy  spirit  she 
should  take  that  form.  So  long  as  we  are  able  to  hope  and 
wish  we  can  bear  a  great  deal  of  sorrow;  if  the  wished-for 
happiness  does  not  come,  anticipation  is  at  least  prolonged 
and  has  its  own  peculiar  sweetness.  This  feeling  is  of  itself 
enough,  and  contains  a  kind  of  enjoyment  which  can  take 
the  place  of  reality.  Though  she  was  so  weary,  yet  she  lay 
down  on  her  couch  with  fresh  hopes,  and  fell  into  a  dream- 
less sleep  almost  against  her  will,  without  having  touched  the 
poison. 

The  rising  sun  generally  gives  comfort  to  sad  hearts  who 
have  passed  the  night  in  weeping,  but  to  a  guilty  conscience 
which  longs  for  darkness  his  pure  light  is  an  unwelcome 

guest.     While  Nitetis  slept  Mandane  lay  awake,  tormented 

• 

*In  ancient  Egyptian  the  Phoenix  was  called  Benno.  On  this  bird 
and  the  worship  paid  to  him  at  Heliopolis  see  notes  pp.  66,  67  and  290. 
Lepsius,  "Chron.,"  p.  180,  and  Brugsch,  "Geogr.  Inschrift,"  i,  p.  258. 

fFrom  the  first  sentence  of  chap.  83  of  the  "Book  of  the  Dead."  A 
picture  of  the  Phoenix  stands  as  vignette  at  the  head  of  this  chapter, 
which  is  entitled,  "The  chapter  of  the  transformation  into  the  Beuno 
bird."  In  fact,  the  souls  are  represented  in  the  form  of  a  Phoenix  and 
other  birds.  The  Benno  must  be  looked  at  as  the  soul  of  the  deity, 
with  which  the  soul  of  man,  being  regarded  as  a  part  and  emanation 
of  the  former,  unites  itself  after  earthly  death,  retaining  nevertheless 
a  certain  individuality.  This  union  can  of  course  only  take  place  if 
the  soul  has  been  justified  and  has  passed  through  all  the  preparatory 
stages. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  293 

by  fearful  remorse.  How  gladly  she  would  have  held  back 
the  sun  which  was  bringing  on  the  day  of  death  to  this  kindest 
of  mistresses,  and  have  spent  the  rest  of  her  own  life  in  per- 
petual night,  if  only  her  yesterday's  deed  could  but  have  been 
undone ! 

The  good-natured,  thoughtless  girl  called  herself  a  wretched 
murderess  unceasingly,  resolved  again  and  again  to  confess 
the  whole  truth  and  so  to  save  Nitetis;  but  love  of  life  and 
fear  of  death  gained  the  victory  over  her  weak  heart  every 
time.  To  confess  was  certain  death,  and  she  felt  as  if  she 
had  been  made  for  life ;  she  had  so  many  hopes  for  the  future, 
and  the  grave  seemed  so  dreadful.  She  thought  she  could 
perhaps  have  confessed  the  whole  truth  if  perpetual  impris- 
onment had  been  all  she  had  to  fear;  but  death!  No,  she 
could  not  resolve  on  that.  And,  besides,  would  her  confes- 
sion really  save  the  already  condemned  Nitetis? 

Had  she  not  sent  a  message  to  Bartja  herself  by  that  unfor- 
tunate gardener's  boy?  This  secret  correspondence  had  been 
discovered,  and  that  was  enough  of  itself  to  ruin  Nitetis,  even 
if  she,  Mandane,  had  done  nothing  in  the  matter.  We  are 
never  so  clever  as  when  we  have  to  find  excuses  for  our  own 
sins. 

At  sunrise,  Mandane  was  kneeling  by  her  mistress'  couch, 
weeping  bitterly  and  wondering  that  Nitetis  could  sleep  so 
calmly. 


tfoges,  the  eunuch,  had  passed  a  sleepless  night,  too,  but 
a  very  happy  one.  His  hated  colleague,  Kandaules,  whom 
he  had  used  as  a  substitute  for  himself,  had  been  already 
executed,  by  the  king's  command,  for  negligence,  and  on 
the  supposition  that  he  had  accepted  a  bribe;  Nitetis  was 
not  only  ruined,  but  certain  to  die  a  shameful  death.  The 
influence  of  the  king's  mother  had  suffered  a  severe  shock; 
and  lastly,  he  had  the  pleasure  of  knowing,  not  only  that  he 
had  outwitted  everyone  and  succeeded  in  all  his  plans,  but 
that  through  his  favorite  Phaedime  he  might  hope  once  more 
to  become  the  all-powerful  favorite  of  former  days.  That  sen- 
tence of  death  had  been  pronounced  on  Croesus  and  the 


294  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

young  heroes  was  by  no  means  an  unwelcome  thought,  either, 
as  they  might  have  been  instrumental  in  bringing  his  intrigues 
to  light. 

In  the  gray  of  the  morning  he  left  the  king's  apartment 
and  went  to  Phaedime.  The  proud  Persian  had  taken  no 
rest.  She  was  waiting  for  him  with  feverish  anxiety  as  a 
rumor  of  all  that  had  happened  had  already  reached  the 
harem  and  penetrated  to  her  apartments. 

She  was  lying  on  a  purple  couch  in  her  dressing-room;  a 
thin  silken  chemise  and  yellow  slippers  thickly  sewn  witli 
turquoises  and  pearls  composed  her  entire  dress.  Twenty 
attendants  were  standing  round  her,  but  the  moment  she 
heard  Boges  she  sent  her  slaves  away,  sprang  up  to  meet  him, 
and  overwhelmed  him  with  a  stream  of  incoherent  questions, 
all  referring  to  her  enemy,  Nitetis. 

"Gently,  gently,  my  little  bird,"  said  Boges,  laying  his  hand 
on  her  shoulder.  "If  you  can't  make  up  your  mind  to  be  as 
quiet  as  a  little  mouse  while  I  tell  my  story,  and  not  ask  one 
question,  you  won't  hear  a  syllable  of  it  to-day.  Yes,  indeed, 
my  golden  queen,  I've  so  much  to  tell  that  I  shall  not  have 
finished  till  to-morrow  if  you  are  to  interrupt  me  as  often  as 
you  like.  Ah,  my  little  lamb,  and  I've  still  so  much  to  do 
to-day.  First,  I  must  be  present  at  an  Egyptian  donkey  ride ; 
second,  I  must  witness  an  Egyptian  execution — but  I  see  I 
am  anticipating  my  story;  I  must  begin  at  the  beginning. 
I'll  allow  you  to  cry,  laugh  and  scream  for  joy  as  much  as 
you  will,  but  you're  forbidden  to  ask  a  single  question  until 
I  have  finished.  I  think  really  I  have  deserved  these  caresses. 
There,  now,  I  am  quite  at  my  ease,  and  can  begin:  Once 
upon  a  time  there  was  a  great  king  in  Persia,  who  had  many 
wives,  but  he  loved  Phaedime  better  than  the  rest,  and  set 
her  above  all  the  others.  One  day  the  thought  struck  him 
that  he  would  ask  for  the  hand  of  the  king  of  Egypt's  daugh- 
ter in  marriage,  and  he  sent  a  great  embassy  to  Sais,  with 
his  own  brother  to  do  the  wooing  for  him " 

"What  nonsense!"  cried  Phaedime,  impatiently;  "I  want 
to  know  what  has  happened  now." 

"Patience,  patience,  my  impetuous  March  wind.  If  you 
interrupt  me  again  I  shall  go  away  and  tell  my  story  to  the 
trees.  You  really  need  not  grudge  me  the  pleasure  of  living 
my  successes  over  again.  While  I  tell  this  story  I  feel  as, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  295 

happy  as  a  sculptor  when  he  puts  down  his  hammer. and 
gazes  at  his  finished  work." 

"No,  no!"  said  Phaedime,  interrupting  him  again.  "I  can- 
not listen  now  to  what  I  know  quite  well  already.  I  am  dying 
of  impatience,  and  every  fresh  report  that  the  eunuchs  and 
slave  girls  bring  makes  it  worse.  I  am  in  a  perfect  fever — 
I  cannot  wait.  Ask  whatever  else  you  like,  only  deliver  me 
from  this  awful  suspense.  Afterward  I  will  listen  to  you  for 
days,  if  you  wish." 

Boges'  smile  at  these  words  was  one  of  great  satisfaction; 
he  rubbed  his  hands  and  answered:  "When  I  was  a  child  I 
had  no  greater  pleasure  than  to  watch  a  fish  writhing  on  the 
hook;  now  I  have  got  you,  my  splendid  golden  carp,  at  the 
end  of  my  line,  and  I  can't  let  you  go  until  I  have  sated 
myself  on  your  impatience." 

Phaedime  sprang  up  from  the  couch  which  she  had  shared 
with  Boges,  stamping  her  foot  and  behaving  like  a  naughty 
child.  This  seemed  to  amuse  the  eunuch  immensely;  he 
rubbed  his  hands  again  and  again,  laughed  till  the  tears  ran 
down  over  his  fat  cheeks,  emptied  many  a  goblet  of  wine  to 
the  health  of  the  tortured  beauty  and  then  went  on  with  his 
tale:  "It  had  not  escaped  me  that  Cambyses  sent  his  brother 
(who  had  brought  Nitetis  from  Egypt)  out  to  the  war  with 
the  Tapuri  purely  from  jealousy.  That  proud  woman,  who 
was  to  take  no  orders  from  me,  seemed  to  care  as -little  for 
the  handsome,  fair-haired  boy  as  a  Jew  for  pork  or  an  Egyp- 
tian for  white  beans.*  But  still  I  resolved  to  nourish  the 
king's  jealousy,  and  use  it  as  a  means  of  rendering  this  impru- 
dent creature  harmless,  as  she  seemed  likely  to  succeed  in 
supplanting  us  both  in  his  favor.  It  was  long,  however,  before 
I  could  hit  on  a  feasible  plan. 

"At  last  the  new  year's  festival  arrived,f  and  all  the  priests 
in  the  kingdom  assembled  at  Babylon.  For  eight  days  the 
city  was  full  of  rejoicing,  feasting  and  merry-making.  At 

*The  Egyptians  were  forbidden  to  eat  beans,  probably  because  of 
their  tendency  to  cause  flatulence.  Cicero,  "De  Divin.,"  i,  30.  Plut., 
"Isis  and  Osiris,"  9.  Pythagoras  borrowed  this  prohibition  from  the 
Egyptians.  It  is  possible,  according  to  "Diodorus"  (i,  89),  that  this 
command  was  limited  to  a  portion  of  the  Egyptian  nation,  as  some  re- 
frained from  eating  lentils,  others  beans,  etc. 

fin  March,  at  the  spring  equinox. 


296  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

court  it  was  just  the  same,  and  so  I  had  very  little  time  to 
think  of  my  plans.  But,  just  then,  when  I  had  hardly  any 
hope  of  succeeding,  the  gracious  Amescha  qpenta*  sent  a 
youth  across  my  path  who  seemed  created  by  Angramainjus 
himself  to  suit  my  plan.  Gaumata,  the  brother  of  Oropastes, 
came  to  Babylon  to  be  present  at  the  great  new  year's  sacri- 
fice. I  saw  him  first  in  his  brother's  house,  whither  I  had 
been  sent  on  a  message  from  the  king,  and  his  likeness  to 
Bartja  was  so  wonderful  that  I  almost  fancied  I  was  looking 
at  an  apparition.  When  I  had  finished  my  business  with 
Oropastes  the  youth  accompanied  me  to  my  carriage.  I 
showed  no  signs  of  astonishment  at  this  remarkable  likeness, 
treated  him,  however,  with  immense  civility,  and  begged  him 
to  pay  me  a  visit.  He  came  the  very  same  evening.  I  sent 
for  my  best  wine,  pressed  him  to  drink,  and  experienced 
— not  for  the  first  time — that  the  juice  of  the  vine  has  one 
quality  which  outweighs  all  the  rest;  it  can  turn  even  a 
silent  man  into  a  chatterbox.  The  youth  confessed  that  the 
great  attraction  which  had  brought  him  to  Babylon  was,  not 
the  sacrifice,  but  a  girl  who  held  the  office  of  upper  attendant 
to  the  Egyptian  princess.  He  said  he  had  loved  her  since 
he  was  a  child;  but  his  ambitious  brother  had  higher  views 
for  him,  and  in  order  to  get  the  lovely  Mandane  out  of  the 
way,  had  procured  her  this  situation.  At  last  he  begged  me 
to  arrange  an  interview  with  her.  I  listened  good-naturedly, 
made  a  few  difficulties,  and  at  last  asked  him  to  -come  the 
next  day  and  see  how  matters  were  going  on.  He  came  and 
I  told  him  that  it  might  be  possible  to  manage  it,  but  only 
if  he  would  promise  to  do  what  I  told  him  without  a  question. 
He  agreed  to  everything,  returned  to  Rhagae  at  my  wish, 
and  did  not  come  to  Babylon  again  until  yesterday,  when 
he  arrived  secretly  at  my  house,  where  I  concealed  him.  Mean- 
while Bartja  had  returned  from  the  war.  The  great  point 
now  was  to  excite  the  king's  jealousy  again  and  ruin  the 
Egyptian  at  one  blow.  I  roused  the  indignation  of  your  rela- 
tions through  your  public  humiliation,  and  so  prepared  the 
way  for  my  plan.  Events  were  wonderfully  in  my  favor. 
You  know  how  Nitetis  behaved  at  the  birthday  banquet,  but 
you  do  not  know  that  that  very  evening  she  sent  a  gardener's 

*Note  p.  272. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  297 

boy  to  the  palace  with  a  note  for  Bartja.  The  silly  fellow 
managed  to  get  caught  and  was  executed  that  very  night  by 
command  of  the  king,  who  was  almost  mad  with  rage;  and 
I  took  care  that  Nitetis  should  be  as  entirely  cut  off  from 
all  communication  with  her  friends  as  if  she  lived  in  the  nest 
of  the  simurg.*  You  know  the  rest." 

"But  how  did  Gaumata  escape?" 

"Through  a  trap-door  of  which  nobody  knows  but  myself 
and  which  stood  wide  open  waiting  for  him.  Everything 
turned  out  marvelously;  I  even  succeeded  in  getting  hold 
of  a  dagger  which  Bartja  had  lost  while  hunting,  and  laying 
it  under  Nitetis'  window.  In  order  to  get  rid  of  the  prince 
during  these  occurrences  and  prevent  him  from  meeting  the 
king  or  anyone  else  wrho  might  be  important  as  a  witness,  I 
asked  the  Greek  merchant  Kolaeus,  who  was  then  at  Babylon 
with  a  cargo  of  Milesian  cloth,  and  who  is  always  willing  to 
do  me  a  favor  because  I  buy  all  the  woolen  stuffs  required 
for  the  harem  of  him,  to  write  a  Greek  letter  begging  Bartja, 
in  the  name  of  her  he  loved  best,  to  come  alone  to  the  first 
station  outside  the  Euphrates  gate  at  the  rising  of  the  Tistar 
star.  But  I  had  a  misfortune  with  this  letter,  for  the  mes- 
senger managed  the  matter  clumsily.  He  declares  that  he 
delivered  the  letter  to  Bartja;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  he  gave  it  to  someone  else,  probably  to  Gaumata,  and 
I  was  not  a  little  dismayed  to  hear  that  Bartja  was  sitting 
over  the  wine  with  his  friends  on  that  very  evening.  Still, 
what  had  been  done  could  not  be  undone,  and  I  knew  that 
the  witness  of  men  like  your  father,  Hystaspes,  Croesus  and 
Intaphernes,  would  far  outweigh  anything  that  Darius,  Gyges 
and  Araspes  could  say.  The  former  would  testify  against  their 
friend,  the. latter  for  him.  And  so,  at  last,  everything  went 
as  I  would  have  had  it.  The  young  gentlemen  are  sentenced 
to  death  and  Croesus,  who,  as  usual,  presumed  to  speak 
impertinently  to  the  king,  will  have  lived  his  last  hour  by  this 
time.  As  to  the  Egyptian  princess,  the  secretary  in  chief  has 
just  been  commanded  to  draw  up  the  following  order.  Now 
listen  and  rejoice,  my  little  dove! 

*The  simurg  is  the  fabulous  bird  of  the  Persians,  and  may  be  com- 
pared to  the  roc  or  griffin.  Sal,  the  father  of  Rustem,  was  brought 
up  in  its  nest.  It  was  not  only  spoken  of  as  large  and  strong,  but  as 
"wise."  See  Firdusi,  "Book  of  Kings,  Sal." 


298  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"  'Nitetis,  the  adulterous  daughter  of  the  king  of  Egypt, 
shall  be  punished  for  her  hideous  crimes  according  to  the 
extreme  rigor  of  the  law,  thus:  She  shall  be  set  astride  upon 
an  ass  and  led  through  the  streets  of  Babylon;  and  all  men 
shall  see  that  Cambyses  knows  how  to  punish  a  king's  daugh- 
ter as  severely  as  his  magistrates  would  punish  the  meanest 
beggar.  To  Boges,  chief  of  the  eunuchs,  is  intrusted  the 
execution  of  this  order. 

"  'By  command  of  King  Cambyses. 

"  'ARIABIGNES,  Chief  of  the  Secretaries.' 

"I  had  scarcely  placed  these  lines  in  the  sleeve  of  my  robe 
when  the  king's  mother,  with  her  garments  rent  and  led  by 
Atossa,  pressed  hastily  into  the  hall.  Weeping  and  lamenta- 
tion followed;  cries,  reproaches,  curses,  entreaties  and  prayers; 
but  the  king  remained  firm,  and  I  verily  believe  Kassandane 
and  Atossa  would  have  been  sent  after  Croesus  and  Bartja 
in  the  other  world  if  fear  of  Cyrus'  spirit  had  not  prevented 
the  son,  even  in  this  furious  rage,  from  laying  hands  on  his 
father's  widow.  Kassandane,  however,  did  not  say  one  word 
for  Nitetis.  She  seems  as  fully  convinced  of  her  guilt  as  you 
and  I  can  be.  Neither  have  we  anything  to  fear  from  the 
enamored  Gaumata.  I  have  hired  three  men  to  give  him  a 
cool  bath  in  the  Euphrates  before  he  gets  back  to  Rhagae. 
Ah,  ha!  the  fishes  and  worms  will  have  a  jolly  time!" 

Phaedime  joined  in  Boges'  laughter,  bestowed  on  him  all 
the  flattering  names  which  she  had  caught  from  his  own  smooth 
tongue,  and,  in  token  of  her  gratitude,  hung  a  heavy  chain 
studded  with  jewels  round  his  neck  with  her  own  beautiful 
arms. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  299 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


Before  the  sun  had  reached  his  midday  height  the  news 
of  what  had  happened  and  what  was  still  to  happen  had 
filled  all  Babylon.  The  streets  swarmed  with  people,  waiting 
impatiently  to  see  the  strange  spectacle  which  the  punishment 
of  one  of  the  king's  wives  who  had  proved  false  and  faithless 
promised  to  afford.  The  whip-bearers  were  forced  to  use 
all  their  authority  to  keep  this  gaping  crowd  in  order.  Later 
on  in  the  day  the  news  that  Bartja  and  his  friends  were  soon 
to  be  executed  arrived  in  the  crowd;  they  were  under  the 
influence  of  the  palm  wine  which  was  liberally  distributed 
on  the  king's  birthday  and  the  following  days,  and  could  not 
control  their  excited  feelings;  but  these  now  took  quite  another 
form. 

Bands  of  drunken  men  paraded  the  streets,  crying:  "Bartja, 
the  good  son  of  Cyrus,  is  to  be  executed !"  The  women  heard 
these  words  in  their  quiet  apartments,  eluded  their  keepers, 
forgot  their  veils,  and,  rushing  forth  into  the  streets,  followed 
the  excited  and  indignant  men  with  their  cries  and  yells. 
Their  pleasure  in  the  thought  of  seeing  a  more  fortunate  sister 
humbled  vanished  at  the  painful  news  that  their  beloved  prince 
was  condemned  to  death.  Men,  women  and  children  raged, 
stormed  and  cursed,  exciting  one  another  to  louder  and  louder 
bursts  of  indignation.  The  work-shops  were  emptied,  the 
merchants  closed  their  warehouses,  and  the  school-boys  and 
servants,  who  had  a  week's  holiday  on  occasion  of  the  king's 
birthday,  used  their  freedom  to  scream  louder  than  anyone 
else,  and  often  to  groan  and  yell  without  in  the  least 
knowing  why. 

At  last  the  tumult  was  so  great  that  the  whip-bearers  were 
insufficient  to  cope  with  it,  and  a  detachment  of  the  body- 
guard was  sent  to  patrol  the  streets.  At  the  sight  of  their 
shining  armor  and  long  lances  the  crowd  retired  into  the 
side  streets,  only,  however,  to  reassemble  in  fresh  numbers 
when  the  troops  were  out  of  sight. 

At  the  gate,  called  the  Bel  gate,  which  led  to  the  great 
western  highroad,  the  throng  was  thicker  than  at  any  other 


300  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

point,  for  it  was  said  that  through  this  gate,  the  one  by  which 
she  had  entered  Babylon,  the  Egyptian  princess  was  to  be 
led  out  of  the  city  in  shame  and  disgrace.  For  this  reason 
a  larger  number  of  whip-bearers  were  stationed  here  in  order 
to  make  way  for  travelers  entering  the  city.  Very  few  people, 
indeed,  left  the  city  at  all  on  this  day,  for  curiosity  was  stronger 
than  either  business  or  pleasure;  those,  on  the  other  hand, 
who  arrived  from  the  country,  took  up  their  stations  near 
the  gate  on  hearing  what  had  drawn  the  crowd  thither. 

It  was  nearly  midday,  and  only  wanted  a  few  hours  to  the 
time  fixed  for  Nitetis'  disgrace,  when  a  caravan  approached 
the  gate  with  great  speed.  The  first  carriage  was  a  so-called 
Harmamaxa,*  drawn  by  four  horses  decked  out  with  bells 
and  tassels ;  a  two-wheeled  cart  followed,  and  last  in  the  train 
was  a  baggage  wagon  drawn  by  mules.  A  fine,  handsome 
man  of  about  fifty,  dressed  as  a  Persian  courtier,  and  another, 
much  older,  in  long  white  robes,  occupied  the  first  carriage. 
The  cart  was  filled  by  a  number  of  slaves  in  simple  blouses 
and  broad-brimmed  felt  hats,  wearing  the  hair  cut  close  to 
the  head.  An  old  man  dressed  as  a  Persian  servant  rode  by 
the  side  of  the  cart.  The  driver  of  the  first  carriage  had  great 
difficulty  in  making  way  for  his  gayly  ornamented  horses 
through  the  crowd;  he  was  obliged  to  come  to  a  halt  before 
the  gate  and  call  some  whip-bearers  to  his  assistance.  "Make 
way  for  us!"  he  cried,  to  the  captain  of  the  police,  who  came 
up  with  some  of  his  men;  "the  royal  post  has  no  time  to  lose, 
and  I  am  driving  someone  who  will  make  you  repent  every 
minute's  delay." 

"Softly,  my  son,"  answered  the  official.  "Don't  you  see 
that  it's  easier  to-day  to  get  out  of  Babylon  than  to  come  in? 
Whom  are  you  driving?" 

"A  nobleman,  with  a  passport  from  the  king.  Come,  be 
quick  and  make  way  for  us." 

"I  don't  know  about  that;  your  caravan  does  not  look  much 
like  royalty." 

"What  have  you  to  do  with  that?    The  pass 

"I  must  see  it  before  I  let  you  into  the  city." 

These  words  were  half  meant  for  the  traveler  whom  he  was 
scrutinizing  very  suspiciously. 

*See  note  p.  155. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  301 

While  tlie  man  in  the  Persian  dress  was  feeling  in  his  sleeve 
for  the  passport  the  whip-bearer  turned  to  some  comrades  who 
had  just  come  up,  and  pointed  out  the  scanty  retinue  of  the 
travelers,  saying:  "Did  you  ever  see  such  a  queer  cavalcade? 
There's  something  odd  about  these  strangers,  as  sure  as  my 
name's  Giw.  Why,  the  lowest  of  the  king's  carpet-bearers 
travels  with  four  times  as  many  people,  and  yet  this  man  has 
a  royal  pass  and  is  dressed  like  one  of  those  who  sit  at  th* 
royal  table." 

At  this  moment  the  suspected  traveler  handed  him  a  little 
silken  roll  scented  with  musk,*  sealed  with  the  royal  seal 
and  containing  the  king's  own  handwriting. 

The  whip-bearer  took  it  and  examined  the  seal.  "It  is  all 
in  order,"  he  murmured,  and  then  began  to  study  the  char- 
acters. But  no  sooner  had  he  deciphered  the  first  letters  than 
he  looked  even  more  sharply  than  before  at  the  traveler,  and 
seized  the  horses'  bridles,  crying  out:  "Here,  men,  form  a 
guard  round  the  carriage !  this  is  an  impostor." 

When  he  had  convinced  himself  that  escape  was  impossible 
he  went  up  to  the  stranger  again  and  said: 

"You  are  using  a  pass  which  does  not  belong  to  you. 
Gyges,  the  son  of  Croesus,  the  man  you  give  yourself  out  for, 
is  in  prison  and  is  to  be  executed  to-day.  You  are  not  in  the 
least  like  him,  and  you  will  have  reason  to  repent  having  tried 
to  pass  for  him.  Get  out  of  your  carriage  and  follow  me." 

The  traveler,  however,  instead  of  obeying,  began  to  speak 
in  broken  Persian,  and  begged  the  officer  rather  to  take  a 
seat  by  him  in  the  carriage,  for  that  he  had  very  important 
news  to  communicate.  The  man  hesitated  a  moment;  but 
on  seeing  a  fresh  band  of  whip-bearers  come  up,  he  nodded 
to  them  to  stand  before  the  patient,  chafing  horses,  and  got 
into  the  carriage. 

The  stranger  looked  at  him  with  a  smile  and  said:  "Now, 
do  I  look  like  an  impostor?" 

"No;  your  language  proves  that  you  are  not  a  Persian, 
but  yet  you  look  like  a  nobleman." 

"I  am  a  Greek,  and  have  come  hither  to  render  Cambyses 
an  important  service.  Gyges  is  my  friend  and  lent  me  his 

*From  Firdusi: 

"And  now  he  wrote  on  silken  stuff  so  fine 
A  letter  breathing  fragrance,  musk  and  wine." 


302  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

passport  when  he  was  in  Egypt,  in  case  I  should  ever  come 
to  Persia.  I  am  prepared  to  vindicate  my  conduct  before  the 
king,  and  have  no  reason  for  fear.  On  the  contrary,  the  news 
I  bring  gives  me  reason  to  expect  much  from  his  favor.  Let 
me  be  taken  to  Croesus,  if  this  is  your  duty;  he  will  be  surety 
for  me,  and  will  send  back  your  men,  of  whom  you  seem  to 
stand  in  great  need  to-day.  Distribute  these  gold  pieces  among 
them,  and  tell  me  without  further  delay  what  my  poor  friend 
Gyges  has  done  to  deserve  death,  and  what  is  the  reason  of 
all  this  crowd  and  confusion." 

The  stranger  said  this  in  bad  Persian,  but  there  lay  so  much 
dignity  and  confidence  in  his  tone,  and  his  gifts  were  on  such 
a  large  scale,  that  the  cringing  and  creeping  servant  of  despo- 
tism felt  sure  he  must  be  sitting  opposite  to  a  prince,  crossed 
his  arms  reverentially,  and,  excusing  himself  from  his  many 
pressing  affairs,  began  to  relate  rapidly.  He  had  been  on  duty 
in  the  great  hall  during  the  examination  of  the  prisoners  the 
night  before,  and  could,  therefore,  tell  all  that  happened  with 
tolerable  accuracy.  The  Greek  followed  his  tale  eagerly,  with 
many  an  incredulous  shake  of  his  handsome  head,  however, 
when  the  daughter  *of  Amasis  and  the  son  of  Cyrus  were 
spoken  of  as  having  been  disloyal  and  false.  That  sentence 
of  death  had  been  pronounced,  especially  on  Croesus,  dis- 
tressed him  visibly,  but  the  sadness  soon  vanished  from  his 
quickly  changing  features  and 'gave  place  to  thought;  this  in 
its  turn  was  quickly  followed  by  a  joyful  look  which  could 
only  betoken  that  the  thinker  had  arrived  at  a  satisfactory 
result.  His  dignified  gravity  vanished  in  a  moment;  he 
laughed  aloud,  struck  his  forehead  merrily,  seized  the  hand 
of  the  astonished  captain,  and  said: 

"Should  you  be  glad  if  Bartja  could  be  saved?" 

"More  than  I  can  say." 

"Very  well;  then  I  will  vouch  for  it  that  you  shall  receive 
at  least  two  talents*  if  you  can  procure  me  an  interview  with 
the  king  before  the  first  execution  has  taken  place." 

"How  can  you  ask  such  a  thing  of  me,  a  poor  captain?" 

"Yes,  you  must — you  must!" 

"I  cannot." 

"I  know  well  that  it  is  very  difficult,  almost  impossible,  for 

*Four  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  sterling. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  303 

a  stranger  to  obtain  an  audience  of  your  king;  but  my  errand 
brooks  no  delay,  for  I  can  prove  that  Bartja  and  his  friends 
are  not  guilty.  Do  you  hear?  I  can  prove  it.  Do  you  think, 
now,  you  can  procure  me  admittance?" 

"How  is  it  possible?'' 

"Don't  ask,  but  act.  Didn't  you  say  Darius  was  one  of  the 
condemned?" 

"Yes." 

"I  have  heard  that  his  father  is  a  man  of  very  high  rank." 

"He  is  the  first  in  the  kingdom,  after  the  sons  of  Cyrus." 

"Then  take  me  to  him  at  once.  He  will  welcome  me  when 
he  hears  I  am  able  to  save  his  son." 

"Stranger,  you  are  a  wonderful  being.  You  speak  with  so 
much  confidence  that 

"That  you  feel  you  may  believe  me.  Make  haste,  then, 
and  call  some  of  your  men  to  make  way  for  us  and  escort  us 
to  the  palace." 

There  is  nothing,  except  a  doubt,  which  runs  more  quickly 
from  mind  to  mind  than  a  hope  that  some  cherished  wish 
may  be  fulfilled,  especially  when  this  hope  has  been  suggested 
to  us  by  someone  we  can  trust. 

The  officer  believed  this  strange  traveler,  jumped  out  of 
the  carriage,  flourishing  his  scourge  and  calling  to  his  men: 
"This  nobleman  has  come  on  purpose  to  prove  Bartja's  inno- 
cence, and  must  be  taken  to  the  king  at  once.  Follow  me, 
my  friends,  and  make  way  for  him !" 

Just  at  that  moment  a  troop  of  the  guards  appeared  in 
sight.  The  captain  of  the  whip-bearers  went  up  to  their  com- 
mander, and,  seconded  by  the  shouts  of  the  crowd,  begged 
him  to  escort  the  stranger  to  the  palace. 

During  this  colloquy  the  traveler  had  mounted  his  servant's 
horse,  and  now  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  Persians. 

The  good  news  flew  like  wind  through  the  huge  city.  As 
the  riders  proceeded  the  crowd  fell  back  more  willingly,  and 
louder  and  fuller  grew  the  shouts  of  joy  until,  at  last,  their 
march  was  like  a  triumphal  procession. 

In  a  few  minutes  they  drew  up  before  the  palace;  but, 
before  the  brazen  gates  had  opened  to  admit  them,  another 
train  came  slowly  into  sight.  {At  the  head  rode  a  gray-headed 
old  man;  his  robes  were  brown,  and  rent,  in  token  of  mourn- 
ing; the  mane  and  tail  of  his  horse  had  been  shorn  off  and 


304  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

the  creature  colored  blue.*  It  was  Hystaspes,  coming  to 
entreat  mercy  for  his  son. 

The  whip-bearer,  delighted  at  this  sight,  threw  himself  down 
before  the  old  man  with  a  cry  of  joy,  and  with  crossed  arms 
told  him  what  confidence  the  traveler  had  inspired  him  with. 

Hystaspes  beckoned  to  the  stranger;  he  rode  up,  bowed 
gracefully  and  courteously  to  the  old  man,  without  dismount- 
ing, and  confirmed  the  words  of  the  whip-bearer.  Hystaspes 
seemed  to  feel  fresh  confidence,  too,  after  hearing  the  stranger, 
for  he  begged  him  to  follow  into  the  palace  and  to  wait  outside 
the  door  of  the  royal  apartment,  while  he  himself,  conducted 
by  the  head  chamberlain,  went  in  to  the  king. 

When  his  old  kinsman  entered  Cambyses  was  lying  on  his 
purple  couch,  pale  as  death.  A  cup-bearer  was  kneeling  on 
the  ground  at  his  feet,  trying  to  collect  the  broken  fragments 
of  a  costly  Egyptian  drinking-cup  which  the  king  had  thrown 
down  impatiently  because  its  contents  had  not  pleased  his 
taste.  At  some  distance  stood  a  circle  of  court  officials,  in 
whose  faces  it  was  easy  to  read  that  they  were  afraid  of  their 
ruler's  wrath,  and  preferred  keeping  as  far  from  him  as  pos- 
sible. The  dazzling  light  and  oppressive  heat  of  a  Babylo- 
nian May  day  came  in  through  the  open  windows,  and  not 
a  sound  was  to  be  heard  in  the  great  room,  except  the  whin- 
ing of  a  large  dog  of  the  Epirote  breed,  which  had  just  received 
a  tremendous  kick  from  Cambyses  for  venturing  to  fawn  on 
his  master,  and  was  the  only  being  that  ventured  to  disturb 
the  solemn  stillness.  Just  before  Hystaspes  was  led  in  by  the 
chamberlain  Cambyses  had  sprung  up  from  his  couch.  This 
idle  repose  had  become  unendurable — he  felt  suffocated  with 
pain  and  anger.  The  dog's  howl  suggested  a  new  idea  to 
his  poor,  tortured  brain,  thirsting  for  forgetfulness. 

"We  will  go  hunting!"  he  shouted  to  the  poor,  startled 
courtiers.  The  masters  of  the  hounds,  the  equerries  and 
huntsmen  hastened  to  obey  orders.  He  called  after  them: 
"I  shall  ride  the  unbroken  horse  Reksch;f  get  the  falcons 


*From  the  mourning  for  Iredsch.  Firdusi,  "Book  of  Kings."  The 
brown  mourning  garment  is  from  Rosenmiiller,  "Das  Atle  und  Neue 
Morgenland,"  i,  p.  179. 

tThe  celebrated  warhorse  of  Rustem  has  the  same  name.  It  signi- 
fies "lightning." 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  305 

ready,  let  all  the  dogs  out  and  order  everyone  to  come  who 
can  throw  a  spear.  We'll  clear  the  preserves!" 

He  then  threw  himself  down  on  his  divan  again,  as  if  these 
words  had  quite  exhausted  his  powerful  frame,  and  did  not 
see  that  Hystapes  had  entered,  for  his  sullen  gaze  was  fixed 
on  the  motes  playing  in  the  sunbeams  that  glanced  through 
the  window. 

Hystaspes  did  not  dare  to  address  him;  but  he  stationed 
himself  in  the  window  so  as  to  break  the  stream  of  motes  and 
thus  draw  attention  to  himself. 

At  first  Cambyses  looked  angrily  at  him  and  his  rent  gar- 
ments, and  then  asked,  with  a  bitter  smile:  "What  do  you 
want?" 

"Victory  to  the  king.  Your  poor  servant  and  uncle  has 
come  to  entreat  his  ruler's  mercy." 

"Then,  rise  and  go!  You  know  that  I  have  no  mercy  for 
perjurers  and  false  swearers.  'Tis  better  to  have  a  dead  son 
than  a  dishonorable  one." 

"But,  if  Bartja  should  not  be  guilty,  and  Darius " 

"You  dare  to  question  the  justice  of  my  sentence?" 

"That  be  far  from  me.  Whatever  the  king  does  is  good 
and  cannot  be  gainsaid;  but  still " 

"Be  silent!  I  will  not  hear  the  subject  mentioned  again. 
You  are  to  be  pitied  as  a  father;  but  have  these  last  few  hours 
brought  me  any  joy?  Old  man,  I  grieve  for  you,  but  I  have 
as  little  power  to  rescind  his  punishment  as  you  to  recall  his 
crime." 

"But  if  Bartja  really  should  not  be  guilty — if  the  gods 

"Do  you  think  the  gods  will  come  to  the  help  of  perjurers 
and  deceivers?" 

"No,  my  king;  but  a  fresh  witness  has  appeared." 

"A  fresh  witness?  Verily,  I  would  gladly  give  half  my  king- 
dom to  be  convinced  of  the  innocence  of  men  so  nearly  related 
to  me." 

"Victory  to  my  lord,  the  eye  of  the  realm!  A  Greek  is 
waiting  outside  who  seems,  to  judge  by  his  figure  and  bearing, 
one  of  the  noblest  of  his  race." 

The  king  laughed  bitterly.  "A  Greek!  Ah,  ha!  perhaps 
some  relation  to  Bartja's  faithful  fair  one!  What  can  this 
stranger  know  of  my  family  affairs?  I  know/  these  beggarly 
lonians  well.  They  are  impudent  enough  to  meddle  in  every- 


306  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

thing,  and  think  they  can  cheat  us  with  their  sly  tricks.  How 
much  have  you  had  to  pay  for  this  new  witness,  uncle?  A 
Greek  is  as  ready  with  a  lie  as  a  Magian  with  his  spells,  and  I 
know  they'll  do  anything  for  gold.  I'm  really  curious  to  see 
your  witness.  Call  him  in.  But  if  he  wants  to  deceive  me  he 
had  better  remember  that  where  the  head  of  a  son  of  Cyrus  is 
about  to  fall  a  Greek  has  but  very  little  chance."  And  the 
king's  eyes  flashed  with  anger  as  he  said  these  words.  Hys- 
taspes,  however,  sent  for  the  Greek. 

Before  he  entered  the  chamberlains  fastened  the  usual  cloth 
before  his  mouth  and  commanded  him  to  cast  himself  on  the 
ground  before  the  king.  The  Greek's  bearing  as  he  ap- 
proached under  the  king's  penetrating  glance  was  calm  and 
noble.  He  fell  on  his  face,  and,  according  to  the  Persian 
custom,  kissed  the  ground. 

His  agreeable  and  handsome  appearance,  and  the  calm  and 
modest  manner  in  which  he  bore  the  king's  gaze,  seemed 
to  make  a  favorable  impression  on  the  latter.  He  did  not 
allow  him  to  remain  long  on  the  earth,  and  asked  him  in  a  by 
no  means  unfriendly  tone: 

"Who  are  you?" 

"I  am  a  Greek  nobleman.  My  name  is  Phanes,  and  Athens 
is  my  home.  I  have  served  ten  years  as  commander  of  the 
Greek  mercenaries  in  Egypt,  and  not  ingloriously." 

"Are  you  the  man  to  whose  clever  generalship  the  Egyptians 
were  indebted  for  the  victories  in  Cyprus?" 

"I  am." 

"What  has  brought  you  to  Persia?" 

"The  glory  of  your  name,  Cambyses,  and  the  wish  to  devote 
my  arms  and  experience  to  your  service." 

"Nothing  else?  Be  sincere,  and  remember  that  one  single 
lie  can  cost  your  life.  We  Persians  have  different  ideas  of 
truth  from  the  Greeks." 

"Lying  is  hateful  to  me,  too,  if  only  because  as  a  distortion 
and  corruption  of  what  is  noblest  it  seems  to  me  unsightly  in 
my  eyes." 

"Then  speak." 

"There  was  certainly  a  third  reason  for  my  coming  hither, 
which  I  should  like  to  tell  you  later.  It  has  reference  to  mat- 
ters of  the  gravest  importance  which  it  will  require  a  longer 
time  to  discuss;  but  to-day " 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  307 

"Just  to-day  1  should  like  to  hear  something  new.  Accom- 
pany me  to  the  chase.  You  come  exactly  at  the  right  time, 
for  I  never  had  more  need  of  diversion  than  now." 

"I  will  accompany  you  with  pleasure,  if " 

"No  conditions  to  the  king!  Have  you  had  much  practice 
in  hunting?" 

"In  the  Libyan  desert  I  have  killed  many  a  lion." 

"Then  come,  follow  me." 

In  the  thought  of  the  chase  the  king  seemed  to  have  thrown 
off  all  his  weakness  and  roused  himself  to  action;  he  was  just 
leaving  the  hall,  when  Hystaspes  once  more  threw  himself  at 
his  feet,  crying,  with  upraised  hands:  "Is  my  son — is  your 
brother — to  die  innocent?  By  the  soul  of  your  father  who 
used  to  call  me  his  truest  friend,  I  conjure  you  to  listen  to 
this  noble  stranger." 

Cambyses  stood  still.  The  frown  gathered  on  his  brow 
again,  his  voice  sounded  like  a  menace  and  his  eyes  flashed 
as  he  raised  his  hand  and  said  to  the  Greek:  "Tell  me  what 
you  know;  but  remember  that  in  every  untrue  word  you  utter 
your  own  sentence  of  death." 

Phanes  heard  this  threat  with  the  greatest  calmness,  and 
answered,  bowing  gracefully  as  he  spoke:  "From  the  sun  and 
from  my  lord  the  king  nothing  can  be  hid.  What  power  has 
a  poor  mortal  to  conceal  the  truth  from  one  so  *?ughty?  The 
noble  Hystaspes  has  said  that  I  am  able  to  prove  yovir  brother 
innocent.  I  will  only  say  that  I  wish  and  hope  I  may  succeed 
in  accomplishing  anything  so  great  and  beautiful.  The  gods 
have  at  least  allowed  me  to  discover  a  trace  which  oeems  calcu- 
lated to  throw  light  on  the  events  of  yesterday;  but  you  your- 
self must  decide  whether  my  hopes  have  been  presumptuous 
and  my  suspicions  too  easily  aroused.  Remember,  however, 
that  throughout,  my  wish  to  serve  you  has  been  sincere,  and 
that  if  I  have  been  deceived  my  error  is  pardonable;  that 
nothing  is  perfectly  certain  in  this  world  and  every  man  be- 
lieves that  to  be  infallible  which  seems  to  him  the  most  prob 
able." 

"You  speak  well,  and  remind  me  of — curse  her!  there, 
speak  and  have  done  with  it!  I  hear  the  dogs  already  in  the 
court." 

"I  was  still  in  Egypt  when  your  embassy  came  to  fetch  Nite- 
tis.  At  the  house  of  Rhodopis,  my  delightful,  clever  and  cele- 


308  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

brated  countrywoman,  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  Croesus 
and  his  son ;  I  only  saw  your  brother  and  his  friends  once  or 
twice,  casually;  still  I  remembered  the  young  prince's  hand- 
some face  so  well,  that  some  time  later,  when  I  was  in  the 
workshop  of  the  great  sculptor  Theodorus,  at  Samos,  I  recog- 
nized his  features  at  once." 

"Did  you  meet  him  at  Samos?" 

"No,  but  his  features  had  made  such  a  deep  and  faithful 
impression  on  Theodorus'  memory,  that  he  used  them  to  beau- 
tify the  head  of  an  Apollo  which  the  Alkmaeonidae  had  ordered 
for  the  new  temple  at  Delphi." 

"Your  tale  begins,  at  least,  incredibly  enough.  How  is  it 
possible  to  copy  features  so  exactly  when  you  have  not  got 
them  before  you?" 

"I  can  only  answer  that  Theodorus  has  really  completed 
his  master-piece,  and  if  you  wish  for  a  proof  of  his  skill  would 
gladly  send  you  a  second  likeness  of— 

"I  have  no  desire  for  it.    Go  on  with  your  story." 

"On  my  journey  thither,  which,  thanks  to  your  father's  ex- 
cellent arrangements,  I  performed  in  an  incredibly  short  time, 
changing  horses  every  sixteen  or  seventeen  miles 

"Who  allowed  you,  a  foreigner,  to  use  the  post-horses?" 

"The  pass  drawn  out  for  the  son  of  Croesus,  which  came  by 
chance  into  my  hands,  when  once,  in  order  to  save  my  life, 
he  forced  me  to  change  clothes  with  him." 

"A  Lydian  can  outwit  a  fox  and  a  Syrian  a  Lydian,  but  an 
Ionian  is  a  match  for  both,"  muttered  the  king,  smiling  for  the 
first  time;  "Croesus  told  me  this  story — poor  Croesus!"  and 
then  the  old  gloomy  expression  came  over'  his  face  and  he 
passed  his  hand  across  his  forehead  as  if  trying  to  smooth  the 
lines  of  care  away.  The  Athenian  went  on:  "I  met  with  no 
hindrance  on  my  journey  till  this  morning  at  the  first  hour  after 
midnight,  when  I  was  detained  by  a  strange  occurrence." 

The  king  began  to  listen  more  attentively  and  reminded  the 
Athenian,  w'lo  spoke  Persian  with  difficulty,  that  there  was  no 
time"  to  lose. 

"We  had  reached  the  last  station  but  one,"  continued  he, 
"and  hoped  to  be  in  Babylon  by  sunrise.  I  was  thinking  over 
my  past  stirring  life  and  was  so  haunted  by  the  remembrance 
of  evil  deeds  unrevenged  that  I  coulH  not  sleep ;  the  old  Egyp- 
tian at  my  side,  however,  slept  and  dreamed  peacefully  enough, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  309 

lulled  by  the  monotonous  tones  of  the  harness  bells,  the  sound 
of  the  horses'  hoofs  and  the  murmur  of  the  Euphrates.  It  was 
a  wonderfully  still,  beautiful  night;  the  moon  and  stars  were  so 
brilliant  that  our  road  and  the  landscape  were  lighted  up  al- 
most with  the  brightness  of  day.  For  the  last  hour  we  had  not 
seen  a  single  vehicle,  foot-passenger,  cr  horseman;  we  had 
heard  that  all  the  neighboring  population  had  assembled  in 
Babylon  to  celebrate  your  birthday,  gaze  with  wonder  at  the 
splendor  of  your  court  and  enjoy  your  liberality.  At  last  the 
irregular  beat  of  the  horses'  hoofs  and  the  sound  of  bells 
struck  my  ear,  and  a  few  minutes  later  I  distinctly  heard  cries 
of  distress.  My  resolve  was  taken  at  once;  I  made  my  Per- 
sian servant  dismount,  sprang  into  his  saddle,  told  the  driver 
of  the  cart  in  which  my  slaves  were  sitting  not  to  spare  his 
mules,  loosened  my  dagger  and  sword  in  their  scabbards,  and 
spurred  my  horse  toward  the  place  from  whence  the  cries  came. 
They  grew  louder  and  louder.  I  had  not  ridden  a  minute 
when  I  came  on  a  fearful  scene.  Three  wild-looking  fellows 
had  just  pulled  a  youth,  dressed  in  the  white  robes  of  a  Magian, 
from  his  horse,  stunned  him  with  heavy  blows,  and,  just  as  I 
reached  them,  were  on  the  point  of  throwing  him  into  the 
Euphrates,  which  at  that  place  washes  the  roots  of  the  palms 
and  fig-trees  bordering  the  highroad.  I  uttered  my  Greek 
war-cry,  which  has  made  many  an  enemy  tremble  before  now, 
and  rushed  on  the  murderers.  Such  fellows  are  always 
cowards;  the  moment  they  saw  one  of  their  accomplices  mor- 
tally wounded  they  fled.  I  did  not  pursue  them,  but  stooped 
down  to  examine  the  poor  boy,  who  was  severely  wounded. 
How  can  I  describe  my  horror  at  seeing,  as  I  believed,  your 
brother  Bartja?  Yes,  they  were  the  very  same  features  that 
I  had  seen,  first  at  Naukratis  and  then  in  Theodorus'  workshop; 
they  were — 

"Marvelous!"  interrupted  Hystaspes. 

"Perhaps  a  little  too  much  so  to  be  credible,"  added  the 
king.  "Take  care,  Hellene!  remember  my  arm  reaches  far. 
I  shall  have  the  truth  of  your  story  put  to  the  proof." 

"I  am  accustomed,"  answered  Phanes,  bowing  low,  "to  fol- 
low the  advice  of  our  wise  philosopher  Pythagoras,  whose 
fame  may  perhaps  have  reached  your  ears,  and  always,  before 
speaking,  to  consider  whether  what  I  am  going  to  say  may  not 
cause  me  sorrow  in  the  future." 


310  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"That  sounds  well;  but,  by  Mithras,  I  knew  someone. who 
often  spoke  of  that  great  teacher,  and  yet  in  her  deeds  turned 
out  to  be  a  most  faithful  disciple  of  Angramainjus.  You 
know  the  traitoress  whom  we  are  going  to  extirpate  from  the 
earth  like  a  poisonous  viper  to-day?" 

"Will  you  forgive  me,"  answered  Phanes,  seeing  the  anguish 
expressed  in  the  king's  features,  "if  I  quote  another  of  the  great 
master's  maxims?" 

"Speak." 

"Blessings  go  as  quickly  as  they  come.  Therefore,  bear  thy 
lot  patiently.  Murmur  not,  and  remember  that  the  gods  never 
lay  a  heavier  weight  on  any  man  than  he  can  bear.  Hast  thou 
a  wounded  heart?  touch  it  as  seldom  as  thou  wouldst  a  sore 
eye.  There  are  only  two  remedies  for  heart-sickness — hope 
and  patience." 

Cambyses  listened  to  this  sentence  borrowed  from  the  golden 
maxims  of  Pythagoras,  and  smiled  bitterly  at  the  word  "pa- 
tience." Still,  the  Athenian's  way  of  speaking  pleased  him,  and 
he  told  him  to  go  on  with  his  story. 

Phanes  made  another  deep  obeisance,  and  continued:  "We 
carried  the  unconscious  youth  to  my  carriage,  and  brought  him 
to  the  nearest  station.  There  he  opened  his  eyes,  looked 
anxiously  at  me,  and  asked  who  I  was  and  what  had  happened 
to  him?  The  master  of  the  station  was  standing  by,  so  I  was 
obliged  to  give  the  name  of  Gyges  in  order  not  to  excite  his 
suspicions  by  belying  my  pass,  as  it  was  only  through  this  that 
I  could  obtain  fresh  horses. 

"The  wounded  man  seemed  to  know  Gyges,  for  he  shook 
his  head  and  murmured:  'You  are  not  the  man  you  give  your- 
self out  for.'  Then  he  closed  his  eyes  again  and  a  violent 
attack  of  fever  came  on." 

"We  undressed,  bled  him,  and  bound  up  his  wounds.  My 
Persian  servant,  who  had  served  as  overlooker  in  Amasis' 
stables  and  had  seen  Bartja  there,  assisted  by  the  old  Egyptian 
who  accompanied  me,  was  very  helpful,  and  asserted  untiringly 
that  the  wounded  man  could  be  no  other  than  your  brother 
When  we  had  cleansed  the  blood  from  his  face  the  master  of 
the  station,  too,  swore  that  there  could  be  no  doubt  of  his 
being  the  younger  son  of  your  great  father,  Cyrus.  Mean- 
while, my  Egyptian  companion  had  fetched  a  potion  from  the 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  311 

traveling  medicine-chest*  without  which  an  Egyptian  does  not 
care  to  leave  his  native  country.  The  drops  worked  wonders; 
in  a  few  hours  the  fever  was  quieted,  and  at  sunrise  the  patient 
opened  his  eyes  once  more.  We  bowed  down  before  him, 
believing  him  to  be  your  brother,  and  asked  if  he  would  like 
to  be  taken  to  the  palace  in  Babylon.  This  he  refused  vehe- 
mently and  asseverated  that  he  was  not  the  man  we  took  him 
for,  but 

"Who  can  be  so  like  Bartja?  tell  me  quickly,"  interrupted 
the  king;  "I  am  very  curious  to  know  this." 

"He  declared  that  he  was  the  brother  of  your  high-priest, 
that  his  name  was  Gaumata,  and  that  this  would  be  proved  by 
the  pass  which  we  should  find  in  the  sleeve  of  his  Magian's 
robe.  The  landlord  found  this  document,  and,  being  able  to 
read,  confirmed  the  statement  of  the  sick  youth;  he  was,  how- 
ever, soon  seized  by  a  fresh  attack  of  fever  and  began  to  speak 
incoherently." 

"Could  you  understand  him?" 

"Yes,  for  his  talk  always  ran  on  the  same  subject.  The  hang- 
ing-gardens seemed  to  fill  his  thoughts.  He  must  have  just 
escaped  some  great  danger,  and  probably  had  had  a  lover's 
meeting  there  with  a  woman  called  Mandane." 

"Mandane — Mandane,"  said  Cambyses,  in  a  low  voice;  "if 
I  do  not  mistake,  that  is  the  name  of  the  highest  attendant  on 
Amasis'  daughter." 

These  words  did  not  escape  the  sharp  ears  of  the  Greek.  • 
He  thought  a  moment,  and  then  exclaimed,  with  a  smile:  "Set 
the  prisoners  free,  my  king;   I  will  answer  for  it  with  my  own 
head  that  Bartja  was  not  in  the  hanging-gardens."  , 

The  king  was  surprised  at  this  speech,  but  not  angry.  The 
free,  unrestrained,  graceful  manner  of  this  Athenian  toward 
himself  produced  the  same  impression  that  a  fresh  sea  breeze 
makes  when  felt  for  the  first  time.  The  nobles  of  his  own 
court,  even  his  nearest  relations,  approached  him,  bowing  and 
cringing,  but  this  Greek  stood  erect  in  his  presence;  the  Per- 
sians never  ventured  to  address  their  ruler  without  a  thousand 
flowery  and  flattering  phrases,  but  the  Athenian  was  simple, 
open  and  straightforward.  Yet  his  words  were  accompanied 


*A  similar  traveling  medicine-chest  is  to  be  seen  in  the  Egyptian 
museum  at  Berlin.    It  is  prettily  and  compendiously  fitted  up. 


312  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

by  such  a  charm  of  action  and  expression  that  the  king  could 
understand  them,  notwithstanding  the  defective  Persian  in 
which  they  were  clothed,  better  than  the  allegorical  speeches 
of  his  own  subjects.  Nitetis  and  Phanes  were  the  only  human 
beings  who  had  ever  made  him  forget  that  he  was  a  king.  With 
them  he  was  a  man,  speaking  to  his  fellow-men,  instead  of 
a  despot,  speaking  with  creatures  whose  very  existence  was 
the  plaything  of  his  caprice.  Such  is  the  effect  produced  by 
real  manly  dignity,  superior  culture  and  the  consciousness 
of  a  right  to  freedom  on  the  mind  even  of  a. tyrant.  But  there 
was  something  besides  all  this  that  had  helped  to  win  Cam- 
byses'  favor  for  the  Athenian.  This  man's  coming  seemed  as  if 
it  might  possibly  give  him  back  the  treasure  he  had  believed 
was  lost  and  more  than  lost.  But  how  could  the  life  of  such  a 
foreign  adventurer  be  accepted  as  surety  for  the  sons  of  the 
highest  Persians  in  the  realm?  The  proposal,  however,  did 
not  make  him  angry.  On  the  contrary,  he  could  not  help 
smiling  at  the  boldness  of  this  Greek,  who,  in  his  eagerness, 
had  freed  himself  from  the  cloth  which  hung  over  his  mouth 
and  beard,  and  exclaimed:  "By  Mithras,  Greek,  it  really  seems 
as  if  you  were  to  prove  a  messenger  of  good  for  us !  I  accept 
your  offer.  If  the  prisoners,  notwithstanding  your  supposi- 
tion, should  still  prove  guilty,  you  are  bound  to  pass  your  whole 
life  at  my  court  and  in  my  service ;  but  if,  on  the  contrary,  you 
are  able  to  prove  what  I  so  ardently  long  for,  I  will  make  you 
richer  than  any  of  your  countrymen." 

Phanes  answered  by  a  smile  which  seemed  to  decline  this 
munificent  offer,  and  asked:  "Is  it  permitted  me  to  put  a  few 
*  questions  to  yourself  and  to  the  officers  of  your  court?" 

"You  are  allowed  to  say  and  ask  whatever  you  wish." 

At  this  moment  the  master  of  the  huntsmen,  one  of  those 
who  daily  ate  at  the  king's  table,  entered,  out  of  breath  from  his 
endeavors  to  hasten  the  preparations,  and  announced  that  all 
was  ready. 

"They  must  wait,"  was  the  king's  imperious  answer.  "I  a,m 
not  sure  that  we  shall  hunt  at  all  to-day.  Where  is  Bischen, 
the  captain  of  police?" 

Datis,  the  so-called  "eye  of  the  king,"*  who  held  the  office 
filled  in  modern  days  by  a  minister  of  police,  hurried  from  the 

*See  note  p.  173. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  313 

room,  returning-  in  a  few  minutes  with  the  desired  officer. 
These  moments  Phanes  made  use  of  for  putting  various  ques- 
tions on  important  points  to  the  nobles  who  were  present. 

"What  news  can  you  bring  of  the  prisoners?"  asked  the  king, 
as  the  man  lay  prostrate  before  him. 

"Victory  to  the  king!  They  await  death  with  calmness,  for 
it  is  sweet  to  die  by  thy  will." 

"Have  you  heard  anything  of  their  conversation?" 

"Yes,  my  ruler." 

"Do  they  acknowledge  their  guilt  when  speaking  to  each 
other?" 

"Mithras  alone  knows  the  heart;  but  you,  my  king,  if  you 
could  hear  them  speak  w-ould  believe  in  their  innocence,  even 
as  I  the  humblest  of  your  servants." 

The  captain  looked  up  timidly  at  the  king,  fearing  lest  these 
words  should  have  excited  his  anger.  Cambyses,  however, 
smiled  kindly  instead  of  rebuking  him.  But  a  sudden  thought 
darkened  his  brow  again  directly,  and  in  a  low  voice  he 
asked:  "When  was  Croesus  executed?" 

The  man  trembled  at  this  question,  the  perspiration  stood 
on  his  forehead,  and  he  could  scarcely  stammer  the  words: 
"He  is — he  has — we  thought " 

"What  did  you  think?"  interrupted  Cambyses,  and  a  new 
light  of  hope  seemed  to  dawn  in  his  mind.  "Is  it  possible  that 
you  did  not  carry  out  my  orders  at  once?  Can  Croesus  still 
be  alive?  Speak  at  once;  I  must  know  the  whole  truth." 

The  captain  writhed  like  a  worm  at  his  lord's  feet,  and  at  last 
stammered  out,  raising  his  hands  imploringly  toward  the  king: 
"Have  mercy,  have  mercy,  my  lord,  the  king!  I  am  a  poor  man, 
and  have  thirty  children,  fifteen  of  whom — 
'    "I  wish  to  knoxv  if  Croesus  is  living  or  dead." 

"He  is  alive!  He  has  done  so  much  for  me,  and  I  did  not 
think  I  was  doing  wrong  in  allowing  him  to  live  a  few  hours 
longer,  that  he  might — 

"That  is  enough,"  said  the  king,  breathing  freely,  "This  once 
your  disobedience  shall  go  unpunished,  and  the  treasury  may 
give  you  two  talents  as  you  have  so  many  children.  Now  go 
to  the  prisoners;  tell  Croesus  to  come  hither,  and  the  others  to 
be  of  good  courage  if  they  are  innocent." 

"My  king  is  the  light  of  the  world  and  an  ocean  of  mercy." 

"Bartja  and  his  friends  need  not  remain  any  longer  in  con- 


314  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

finement;  they  can  walk  in  the  court  of  the  palace,  and  you  will 
keep  guard  over  them.  You,  Datis,  go  at  once  to  the  hanging- 
gardens  and  order  Boges  to  defer  the  execution  of  the  sentence 
on  the  Egyptian  princess;  and,  further,  I  wish  messengers  sent 
to  the  post-station  mentioned  by  the  Athenian,  and  the 
wounded  man  brought  hither  under  safe  escort." 

The  "king's  eye"  was  on  the  point  of  departure,  but  Phanes 
detained  him,  saying:  "Does  my  king  allow  me  to  make  one 
remark?" 

"Speak." 

"It  appears  to  me  that  the  chief  of  the  eunuchs  could  give  the 
most  accurate  information.  During  his  delirium  the  youth 
often  mentioned  his  name  in  connection  with  that  of  the  girl 
he  seemed  to  be  in  love  with." 

"Go  at  once,  Datis,  and  bring  him  quickly." 

"The  high-priest,  Oropastes,  Gaumata's  brother,  ought  to 
appear,  too;  and  Mandane,  who,  I  have  just  been  assured 
on  the  most  positive  authority,  is  the  principal  attendant  of  the 
Egyptian  princess." 

"Fetch  her,  Datis." 

"If  Nitetis  herself  could " 

.  At  this  the  king  turned  pale  and  a  cold  shiver  ran  through 
his  limbs.  How  he  longed  to  see  his  darling  again!  But 
the  strong  man  was  afraid  of  this  woman's  reproachful  looks; 
he  knew  the  captivating  power  that  lay  in  her  eyes.  So  he 
pointed  to  the  door,  saying:  "Fetch  Boges  and  Mandane;  the 
Egyptian  princess  is  to  remain  in  the  hanging-gardens,  under 
strict  custody." 

The  Athenian  bowed  deferentially,  as  if  he  would  say:  "Here 
no  one  has  a  right  to  command  but  the  king." 

Cambyses  looked  well  pleased,  seated  himself  again  on  the 
purple  divan,  and  resting  his  forehead  on  his  hand  bent  his  eyes 
on  the  ground  and  sank  into  deep  thought.  The  picture  of  the 
woman  he  loved  so  dearly  refused  to  be  banished;  it  came 
again  and  again,  more  and  more  vividly,  and  the  thought  that 
these  features  could  not  have  deceived — that  Nitetis  must  be 
innocent — took  a  firmer  root  in  his  mind;  he  had  already 
begun  to  hope.  If  Bartja  could  be  cleared  there  was  no  error 
that  might  not  be  conceivable ;  in  that  case  he  would  go  to  the 
hanging-gardens,  take  her  hand  and  listen  to  her  defense. 
When  love  has  once  taken  firm  hold  of  a  man  in  riper  years 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  315 

it  runs  and  winds  through  his  whole  nature  like  one  of  his 
veins  and  can  only  be  destroyed  with  his  life. 

The  entrance  of  Croesus  roused  Cambyses  from  his  dream; 
he  raised  the  old  man  kindly  from  the  prostrate  position  at  his 
feet  into  which  he  had  thrown  himself  on  entering,  and  said: 
"You  offended  me,  but  I  will  be  merciful;  I  have  not  forgotten 
that  my  father,  on  his  dying  bed,  told  me  to  make  you  my 
friend  and  adviser.  Take  your  life  back  as  a  gift  from  me,  and 
forget  my  anger  as  I  wish  to  forget  your  want  of  reverence. 
This  man  says  he  knows  you;  I  should  like  to  hear  your 
opinion  of  his  conjectures." 

Croesus  turned  away  much  affected,  and,  after  having  hear- 
tily welcomed  the  Athenian,  asked  him  to  relate  his  supposi- 
tions and  the  grounds  on  which  they  were  founded. 

The  old  man  grew  more  and  more  attentive  as  the  Greek 
went  on,  and  when  he  had  finished  raised  his  hands  to  heaven, 
crying,  "Pardon  me,  oh,  ye  eternal  gods,  if  I  have  ever  ques- 
tioned the  justice  of  your  decrees.  Is  not  this  marvelous, 
Cambyses?  My  son  once  placed  himself  in  great  danger  to 
save  the  life  of  this  noble  Athenian,  whom  the  gods  have 
brought  hither  to  repay  the  deed  tenfold.  Had  Phanes  been 
murdered  in  Egypt  this  hour  might  have  seen  our  sons  exe- 
cuted." 

And  as  he  said  this  he  embraced  Hystaspes;  both  shared 
one  feeling;  their  sons  had  been  as  dead,  and  were  now  alive. 

The  king,  Phanes,  and  all  the  Persian  dignitaries  watched 
the  old  men  with  deep  sympathy,  and,  though  the  proof  of 
Bartja's  innocence  were  as  yet  only  founded  on  conjecture, 
not  one  of  those  present  doubted  it  one  moment  longer.  Wher- 
ever the  belief  in  a  man's  guilt  is  but  slight  his  defender  finds 
willing  listeners. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


The  sharp-witted  Athenian  saw  clearly  how  matters  lay  in 
this  sad  story;  nor  did  it  escape  him  that  malice  had  had  a  hand 
in  the  affair.  How  could  Bartja's  dagger  have  come  into  the 
hanging-gardens  except  through  treachery? 


316  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

While  he  was  telling  the  king  his  suspicions  Oropastes  was 
led  into  the  hall. 

The  king  looked  angrily  at  him  and  without  one  preliminary 
word,  asked:  "Have  you  a  brother?" 

"Yes,  my  king.  He  and  I  are  the  only  two  left  out  of  a 
family  of  six.  My  parents " 

"Is  your  brother  younger  or  older  than  yourself?" 

"I  was  the  eldest  of  the  family;  my  brother,  the  youngest, 
was  the  joy  of  my  father's  old  age." 

"Did  you  ever  notice  a  remarkable  likeness  between  him 
and  one  of  my  relations?" 

"Yes,  my  king.  Gaumata  is  so  like  your  brother,  Bartja, 
that  in  the  school  for  priests  at  Rhagae,  where  he  still  is,  he 
was  always  called  'the  prince.' " 

"Has  he  been  at  Babylon  very  lately?" 

"He  was  here  for  the  last  time  at  the  new  year's  festival." 

"Are  you  speaking  the  truth?" 

"The  sin  of  lying  would  be  doubly  punishable  in  one  who 
wears  my  robes  and  holds  my  office." 

The  king's  face  flushed  with  anger  at  this  answer,  and  he 
exclaimed:  "Nevertheless  you  are  lying;  Gaumata  was  here 
yesterday  evening.  You  may  well  tremble." 

"My  life  belongs  to  the  king,  whose  are  all  things;  never- 
theless I  swear — I,  the  high-priest — by  the  most  high  God, 
whom  I  have  served  faithfully  for  thirty  years,  that  I  know 
nothing  of  my  brother's  presence  in  Babylon  yesterday." 

"Your  face  looks  as  if  you  were  speaking  the  truth." 

"You  know  that  I  was  not  absent  from  your  side  the  whole 
of  that  high  holiday." 

"I  know  it." 

Again  the  doors  opened;  this  time  they  admitted  the  trem- 
bling Mandane.  The  high-priest  cast  such  a  look  of  astonish- 
ment and  inquiry  on  her  that  the  king  saw  she  must  be  in  some 
way  connected  with  him,  and,  therefore,  taking  no  notice  of 
the  trembling  girl  who  lay  at  his  feet,  he  asked:  "Do  you 
know  this  woman?", 

"Yes,  my  king.  I  obtained  for  her  the  situation  of  upper 
attendant  to  the — may  Auramazda  forgive  her! — king  of 
Egypt's  daughter." 

"What  led  you — a  priest — to  do  a  favor  to  this  girl?" 

"Her  parents  died  of  the  same  pestilence  which  carried  off 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  317 

my  brothers.  Her  father  was  a  priest,  respected,  and  a  friend 
of  our  family;  so  we  adopted  the  little  girl,  remembering 
the  words:  'If  thou  withhold  help  from  the  man  who  is  pure 
in  heart  and  from  his  widow  and  orphans,  then  shall  the  pure, 
subject  earth  cast  thee  out  unto  the  stinging  nettles,  to  painful 
sufferings,  and  to  the  most  fearful  regions.'  Thus  I  became  her 
foster-father,  and  had  her  brought  up  with  my  youngest 
brother  until  he  was  obliged  to  enter  the  school  for  priests." 

The  king  exchanged  a  look  of  intelligence  with  Phanes 
and  asked:  "Why  did  not  you  keep  the  girl  longer  with 
you?" 

"When  she  had  received  the  ear-rings*  I,  as  priest,  thought 
it  more  suitable  to  send  such  a  young  girl  away  from  my  house, 
and  to  put  her  in  a  position  to  earn  her  own  living." 

"Has  she  seen  your  brother  since  she  has  been  grown 
up?" 

"Yes,  my  king.  Whenever  Gaumata  came  to  see  me  I  al- 
lowed him  to  be  with  her  as  with  a  sister;  but  on  discovering 
later  that  the  passionate  love  of  youth  had  begun  to  mingle 
with  the  childish  friendship  of  former  days,  I  felt  strengthened 
in  my  resolution  to  send  her  away." 

"Now  we  know  enough,"  said  the  king,  commanding  the 
high-priest  by  a  nod  to  retire.  He  then  looked  down  on  the 
prostrate  girl,  and  said,  imperiously:  "Rise!" 

Mandane  rose,  trembling  with  fear.  Her  fresh  young  face 
was  pale  as  death,  and  her  red  lips  were  blue  from  terror. 

"Tell  all  you  know  about  yesterday  evening;  but  remember, 
a  lie  and  your  death  are  one  and  the  same." 

The  girl's  knees  trembled  so  violently  that  she  could  hardly 
stand,  and  her  fear  entirely  took  away  the  power  of  speaking. 

"I  have  not  much  patience,"  exclaimed  Cambyses. 

Mandane  started,  grew  paler  still,  but  could  not  speak. 
Then  Phanes  came  forward  and  asked  the  angry  king  to  allow 
him  to  examine  the  girl,  as  he  felt  sure  that  fear  alone  had 
closed  her  lips  and  that  a  kind  word  would  open  them. 

Cambyses  allowed  this,  and  the  Athenian's  words  proved 
true;  no  sooner  had  he  assured  Mandane  of  the  good-will  of 
all  present,  laid  his  hand  on  her  head  and  spoken  kindly  to  her, 
than  the  source  of  her  tears  was  unlocked,  she  wept  freely, 
the  spell  which  had  seemed  to  chain  her  tongue  vanished,  and 

*See  note  p.  168. 


318  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

she  began  to  tell  her  story,  interrupted  only  by  low  sobs.  She 
hid  nothing,  confessed  that  Boges  had  given  her  his  sanction 
and  assistance  to  the  meeting  with  Gaumata,  and  ended  by  say- 
ing: "I  know  that  I  have  forfeited  my  life,  and  am  the  worst 
and  most  ungrateful  creature  in  the  world;  but  none  of  all  this 
would  have  happened  if  Oropastes  had  allowed  his  brother  to 
marry  me." 

The  serious  audience,  even  the  king  himself,  could  not  resist 
a  smile  at  the  longing  tone  in  which  these  words  were  spoken 
and  the  fresh  burst  of  sobs  which  succeeded  them. 

And  this  smile  saved  her  life.  But  Cambyses  would  not 
have  smiled  after  hearing  such  a  story,  if  Mandane,  with  that 
instinct  which  always  seemed  to  stand  at  a  woman's  command 
in  the  hour  of  her  greatest  danger,  had  not  known  how  to  seize 
his  weak  side  and  use  it  for  her  own  interests,  by  dwelling  much 
longer  than  was  necessary  on  the  delight  which  Nitetis  had 
manifested  at  the  king's  gifts. 

"A  thousand  times,"  cried  she,  "did  my  mistress  kiss  the 
presents  which  were  brought  from  you,  oh,  king;  but  oftenest 
of  all  did  she  press  her  lips  to  the  nosegay  which  you  plucked 
with  your  own  hands  for  her  some  days  ago.  And  when  it 
began  to  fade  she  took  every  flower  separately,  spread  out  the 
petals  with  care,  laid  them  between  woolen  cloths,  and,  with 
her  own  hands,  placed  her  heavy,  golden  ointment-box  upon 
them  that  they  might  dry,  and  so  she  might  keep  them  always 
as  a  remembrance  of  your  kindness." 

Seeing  Cambyses'  awful  features  grow  a  little  milder  at 
these  words  the  girl  took  fresh  courage,  and,  at  last,  began  to 
put  loving  words  into  her  mistress'  mouth,  which  the  latter 
had  never  uttered,  professing  that  she  herself  had  heard  Nitetis 
a  hundred  times  murmur  the  word  "Cambyses"  in  her  sleep 
with  indescribable  tenderness.  She  ended  her  confession  by 
sobbing  and  praying  for  mercy. 

The  king  looked  down  at  her  with  infinite  contempt,  though 
without  anger,  and  pushing  her  away  with  his  foot,  said:  "Out 
of  my  sight,  you  dog  of  a  woman!  Blood  like  yours  would  s6il 
the  executioner's  ax.  Out  of  my  sight!" 

Mandane  needed  no  second  command  to  depart.  The  words 
"out  of  my  sight"  sounded  like  sweet  music  in  her  ears.  She 
rushed  through  the  courts  of  the  palace  and  out  into  the  street, 
crying  like  a  mad  woman:  "I  am  free!  I  am  free!" 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  319 

She  had  scarcely  left  the  hall  when  Datis,  "the  king's  eye/' 
reappeared  with  the  news  that  the  chief  of  the  eunuchs  was 
nowhere  to  be  found.  He  had  vanished  from  the  hanging- 
gardens  in  an  unaccountable  manner;  but  he,  Datis,  had  left 
word  with  his  subordinates  that  he  was  to  be  searched  for  and 
brought,  dead  or  alive. 

The  king  went  off  into  another  violent  fit  of  passion  at  this 
news  and  threatened  the  officer  of  police,  who  prudently 
concealed  the  excitement  of  the  cro'wd  from  his  lord,  with  a 
severe  punishment  if  Boges  were  not  in  his  hands  by  the  next 
morning. 

As  he  finished  speaking  a  eunuch  was  brought  in  the  hall, 
sent  by  the  king's  mother  to  ask  for  an  interview  for  herself 
with  her  son. 

Cambyses  prepared  at  once  to  comply  with  his  mother's 
wish,  at  the  same  time  giving  Phanes  his  hand  to  kiss,  a  rare 
honor,  only  shown  to  those  \vho  ate  at  the  king's  table,  and 
saying:  "All  the  prisoners  are  to  be  set  at  liberty.  Go  to 
your  sons,  you  anxious,  troubled  fathers,  and  assure  them  of 
my  mercy  and  favor.  I  think  we  shall  be  able  to  find  a  satrapy 
apiece  for  them  as  compensation  for  to-night's  undeserved 
imprisonment.  To  you,  my  Greek  friend,  I  am  deeply  in- 
debted. In  discharge  of  this  debt,  and  as  a  means  of  retaining 
you  at  my  court,  I  beg  you  to  accept  one  hundred  talents* 
from  my  treasury." 

"I  shall  scarcely  be  able  to  use  so  large  a  sum,"  said  Phanes, 
bowing  low. 

"Then  abuse  it,"  said  the  king,  with  a  friendly  smile,  and 
calling  out  to  him:  "We  shall  meet  again  at  supper,"  he  left 
the  hall  accompanied  by  his  court. 


In  the  meantime  there  had  been  sadness  and  mourning  in 
the  apartments  of  the  queen-mother.  Judging  from  the  con- 
tents of  the  letter  to  Bartja,  Kassandane  had  made  up  her 
mind  that  Nitetis  was  faithless  and  her  own  beloved  son  inno- 

*Twenty-two  thousand  five  hundred  pounds  sterling. 


320  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

cent.  But  in  whom  could  she  ever  place  confidence  again,  now 
that  this  girl^whom  she  had  looked  upon  as  the  very  embodi- 
ment of  every  womanly  virtue,  had  proved  reprobate  and 
faithless — now  that  the  noblest  youths  in  the  realm  had  proved 
perjurers? 

Nitetis  was  more  than  dead  for  her;  Bartja,  Croesus,  Darius, 
Gyges,  Araspes,  all  so  closely  allied  to  her  by  relationship  and 
friendship,  as  good  as  dead.  And  yet  she -dare  not  indulge  her 
sorrow;  she  had  to  restrain  the  despairing  outbursts  of  grief 
of  her  impetuous  child. 

Atossa  behaved  like  one  deprived  of  her  senses  when  she 
heard  of  the  sentences  of  death.  The  self-control  which  she 
had  learned  from  Nitetis  gave  way,  and  her  old  impetuosity 
burst  forth  again  with  double  vehemence. 

Nitetis,  her  only  friend — Bartja,  the  brother  whom  she  loved 
with  her  whole  heart — Darius,  whom  she  felt  now  she  not  only 
looked  up  to  as  her  deliverer,  but  loved  with  all  the  warmth  of 
a  first  affection — Croesus,  to  whom  she  clung  like  a  father — she 
was  to  lose  in  one  day  everyone  she  loved. 

She  tore  her  dress  and  her  hair,  called  Cambyses  a  monster, 
and  everyone  who  could  possibly  believe  in  the  guilt  of  such 
people  infatuated' or  insane.  Then  her  tears  would  burst  out 
afresh,  she  would  utter  imploring  supplications  to  the  gods 
for  mercy,  and  a  few  minutes  later,  begin  conjuring  her  mother 
to  take  her  to  the  hanging-gardens,  that  they  might  hear 
Nitetis'  defense  of  her  own  conduct. 

Kassandane  tried  to  soothe  the  violent  girl,  and  assured  her 
every  attempt  to  visit  the  hanging-gardens  would  be  in  vain. 
Then  Atossa  began  to  rage  again,  until  at  last  her  mother  was 
forced  to  command  silence,  and,  as  morning  had  already  begun 
to  dawn,  sent  her  to  her  sleeping-room. 

The  girl  obeyed,  but,  instead  of  going  to  bed,  seated  herself 
at  a  tall  window  looking  toward  the  hanging-gardens.  Her 
eyes  filled  with  tears  again,  as  she  thought  of  her  friend — her 
sister — sitting  in  that  palace  alone,  forsaken,  banished,  and 
looking  forward  to  an  ignominious  death.  Suddenly  her  tear- 
ful, weary  eyes  lighted  up  as  if  from  some  strong  purpose,  and, 
instead  of  gazing  into  the  distance,  she  fixed  them  on  a  black 
speck  which  flew  toward  her  in  a  straight  line  from  Nitetis' 
house,  becoming  larger  and  more  distinct  every  moment,  and 
finally  settling-  on  a  cypress  before  her  window.  The  sorrow 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  321 

vanished  at  once  from  her  lovely  face,  and  with  a  deep  sigh 
of  relief  she  sprang  up,  exclaiming:  "Oh,  there  is  the  homa'i,* 
the  bird  of  good  fortune!  Now  everything1  will  turn  out 
well." 

It  was  the  same  bird  of  paradise  which  had  brought  so  much 
comfort  to  Nitetis  that  now  gave  poor  Atossa  fresh  confidence. 

She  bent  forward  to  see  whether  anyone  was  in  the  garden ; 
and,  finding  that  she  would  be  seen  by  no  one  but  the  old  gar- 
dener, she  jumped  out,  trembling  like  a  fawn,  plucked  a  few 
roses  and  cypress  twigs  and  took  them  to  the  old  man.  who  had 
been  watching  her  performance  with  a  doubtful  shake  of  the 
head. 

She  stroked  his  cheeks  coaxingly,  put  her  flowers  in  his 
brown  hand,  and  said:  "Do  you  love  me,  Sabaces?" 

"Oh,  my  mistress!"  was  the  only  answer  the  old  man  could 
utter,  as  he  pressed  the  hem  of  her  robe  to  his  lips. 

"I  believe  you,  my  old  friend,  and  I  will  show  you  how  I 
trust  my  faithful,  old  Sabaces.  Hide  these  flowers  carefully 
and  go  quickly  to  the  king's  palace.  Say  that  you  had  to  bring 
fruit  for  the  table.  My  poor  brother  Bartja  and  Darius,  the 
son  of  the  noble  Hystaspes,  are  in  prison,  near  the  guard-house 
of  the  immortals.  You  must  manage  that  these  flowers  reach 
them,  with  a  warm  greeting  from  me,  but  mind,  the  message 
must  be  given  with  the  flowers." 

"But  the  guards  will  not  allow  me  to  see  the  prisoners." 

"Take  these  rings,  and  slip  them  into  their  hands." 

"I  will  do  my  best." 

"I  knew  you  loved  me,  my  good  Sabaces.  Now,  make  haste, 
and  come  back  soon." 

The  old  man  went  off  as  fast  as  he  could.  Atossa  looked 
thoughtfully  after  him,  murmuring  to  herself:  "Now  they 
will  both  know  that  I  loved  them  to  the  last.  The  rose  means 
'I  love  you,'  and  the  evergreen  cypress  'true  and  steadfast.' " 
The  old  man  came  back  in  an  hour,  bringing  her  Bartja's 
favorite  ring  and  from  Darius  an  Indian  handkerchief  dipped 
in  blood. 

Atossa  ran  to  meet  them;  her  eyes  filled  with  tears  as  she 
took  the  tokens,  and,  seating  herself  under  a  spreading  plane- 
tree,  she  pressed  them  by  turns  to  her  lips,  murmuring:  "Bart- 

*The  bird  of  paradise  is  called  in  Persian  homa'i.  See  Malcolm, 
"Persia,"  p.  53. 


322  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

ja's  ring  means  that  he  thinks  of  me ;  the  blood-stained  hand- 
kerchief that  Darius  is  ready  to  shed  his  heart's  blood  for 
me." 

Atossa  smiled  as  she  said  this,  and  her  tears,  when  she 
thought  of  her  friends  and  their  sad  fate,  were  quieter,  if  not 
less  bitter,  than  before. 


A  few  hours  later  a  messenger  arrived  from  Croesus  with 
news  that  the  innocence  of  Bartja  and  his  friends  had  been 
proved,  and  that  Nitetis  was,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  cleared 
also. 

Kassandane  sent  at  once  to  the  hanging-gardens,  with  a 
request  that  Nitetis  would  come  to  her  apartments.  Atossa,  as 
unbridled  in  her  joy  as  in  her  grief,  ran  to  meet  her  friend's 
litter  and  flew  from  one  of  her  attendants  to  the  other,  crying: 
"They  are  all  innocent;  we  shall  not  lose  one  of  them — not 
one!" 

When,  at  last,  the  litter  appeared,  and  her  loved  one,  pale 
as  death,  within  it,  she  burst  into  loud  sobs,  threw  her  arms 
round  Nitetis  as  she  descended,  and  covered  her  with  kisses 
and  caresses  till  she  perceived  that  her  friend's  strength  was 
failing,  that  her  knees  gave  way,  and  she  required  a  stronger 
support  than  Atossa's  girlish  strength  could  give. 

The  Egyptian  girl  was  carried  insensible  into  the  queen- 
mother's  apartments.  When  she  opened  her  eyes,  her  head — 
— more  like  a  marble  piece  of  sculpture  than  a  living  head — 
was  resting  on  the  blind  queen's  lap;  she  felt  Atossa's  warm 
kisses  on  her  forehead,  and  Cambyses,  who  had  obeyed  his 
mother's  call,  was  standing  at  her  side. 

She  gazed  on  this  circle,  including  all  she  loved  best,  with 
anxious,  perplexed  looks,  and  at  last,  recognizing  them  one 
by  one,  passed  her  hand  across  her  pale  forehead  as  if  to 
remove  a  veil,  smiled  at  each,  and  closed  her  eyes  once  more. 
She  fancied  Isis  had  sent  her  a  beautiful  vision  and  wished  to 
hold  it  fast  with  all  the  powers  of  her  mind. 

Then  Atossa  called  her  by  her  name,  impetuously  and  lov- 
ingly. She  opened  her  eyes  again,  and  again  she  saw  those 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  323 

loving  looks  that  she  fancied  had  only  been  sent  her  in  a 
dream.  Yes,  that  was  her  own  Atossa,  this  her  motherly 
friend,  and  there  stood,  not  the  angry  king,  but  the  man  she 
loved.  And  now  his  lips  opened,  too;  his  stern,  severe  eyes 
rested  on  her  so  beseechingly,  and  he  said:  "O,  Nitetis,  awake! 
you  must  not — you  cannot  possibly  be  guilty!"  She  moved  her 
head  gently,  with  a  look  of  cheerful  denial,  and  a  happy  smile 
stole  across  her  features,  like  a  breeze  of  early  spring  over 
fresh  young  roses. 

"She  is  innocent!  by  Mithras,  it  is  impossible  that  she  can 
be  guilty/'  cried  the  king  again,  and  forgetful  of  the  presence 
of  others  he  sank  on  his  knees. 

A  Persian  physician  came  up  and  rubbed  her  forehead  with 
a  sweet-scented  oil,  and  Nebenchari  approached,  muttering 
spells,  felt  her  pulse,  shook  his  head,  and  administered  a  potion 
from  his  portable  medicine  chest.  This  restored  her  to  per- 
fect consciousness;  she  raised  herself  with  difficulty  into  a 
sitting  posture,  returned  the  loving  caresses  of  her  two  friends, 
and  then,  turning  to  Cambyses,  asked:  "How  could  you  believe 
such  a  thing  of  me,  my  king?"  There  was  no  reproach  in  her 
tone,  but  deep  sadness,  and  Cambyses  answered,  softly:  "For- 
give me." 

Kassandane's  blind  eyes  expressed  her  gratitude  for  this 
self-renunciation  on  the  part  of  her  son,  and  she  said:  "My 
daughter,  I  need  your  forgiveness,  too." 

"But  I  never  once  doubted  you,"  cried  Atossa,  proudly 
and  joyfully  kissing  her  friend's  lips. 

"Your  letter  to  Bartja  shook  my  faith  in  your  innocence," 
added  Kassandane. 

"And  yet  it  was  all  so  simple  and  natural,"  answered  Nitetis. 
"Here,  my  mother,  take  this  letter  from  Egypt.  Croesus  will 
translate  it  for  you.  It  will  explain  all.  Perhaps  I  was  impru- 
dent. Ask  your  mother  to  tell  you  what  you  would  wish  to 
know,  my  king.  Pray  do  not  scorn  my  poor,  ill  sister.  When 
an  Egyptian  girl  once  loves  she  cannot  forget.  But  I  feel  so 
frightened.  The  end  must  be  near.  The  last  hours  have 
been  so  very,  very  terrible.  That  horrible  man  Boges  read 
me  the  fearful  sentence  of  death,  and  it  was  that  which  forced 
the  poison  1>nto  my  hand.  Ah,  my  heart!" 

And  with  these'  words  she  fell  back  into  the  arms  of  Kas- 
sandane. 


224  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

Nebenchari  rushed  forward  and  gave  her  some  more  drops, 
exclaiming:  "I  thought  so!  She  has  taken  poison  and  her 
life  cannot  be  saved,  though  this  antidote  may  possibly  pro- 
long it  for  a  few  days." 

Cambyses  stood  by,  pale  and  rigid,  following  the  physician's 
slightest  movements,  and  Atossa  bathed  her  friend's  forehead 
with  tears.. 

"Let  some  milk  be  brought,"  cried  Nebenchari,  "and  my 
large  medicine  chest;  and  let  attendants  be  called  to  carry 
her  away,  for  quiet  is  necessary,  above  all  things." 

Atossa  hastened  into  the  adjoining  room;  and  Cambyses 
said  to  the  physician,  but  without  looking  into  his  face:  "Is 
there  no  hope?" 

"The  poison  which  she  has  taken  results  in  certain  death." 

On  hearing  this  the  king  pushed  Nebenchari  away  from 
the  sick  girl,  exclaiming:  "She  shall  live.  It  is  my  will. 
Here,  eunuch !  summon  all  the  physicians  in  Babylon — assem- 
ble the  priests  and  the  Mobeds!*  She  is  not  to  die;  do  you 
hear?  She  must  live.  I  am  the  king,  and  I  command  it." 

Nitetis  opened  her  eyes  as  if  endeavoring  to  obey  her  lord. 
Her  face  was  turned  toward  the  window,  and  the  bird  of  par- 
adise, with  the  gold  chain  on  its  foot,  was  still  there,  perched 
on  the  cypress  tree.  Her  eyes  fell  first  on  her  lover,  who  had 
sunk  down  at  her  side  and  was  pressing  his  burning  lips  to 
her  right  hand.  She  murmured,  with  a  smile :  "Oh,  this  is  great 
happiness!"  Then  she  saw  the  bird,  and  pointed  to  it  with 
her  left  hand,  crying:  "Look,  look,  there  is  the  Phoenix,  the 
bird  of  Ra!" 

After  saying  this  she  closed  her  eyes  and  was  soon  seized 
by  a  violent  attack  of  fever. 

*Mobeds  are  priests.  They  are  not  mentioned  in  the  "Avesta." 
Spiegel  derives  the  name  from  nmana  paiti.  Rogge  prefers,  with 
Tiele,  Haug's  derivation  from  magu  pat,  lord  of  the  Magi. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  325 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


Prexaspes,  the  king's  messenger  and  one  of  the  highest 
officials  at  the  court,  had  brought  Gaumata,  Mandane's  lover, 
whose  likeness  to  Bartja  was  really  most  wonderful,  to  Baby- 
lon, sick  and  wounded  as  he  was.  He  was  now  awaiting  his 
sentence  in  a  dungeon,  while  Boges,  the  man  who  had  led 
him  into  crime,  was  nowhere  to  be  found,  notwithstanding  all 
the  efforts  of  the  police.  His  escape  had  been  rendered  pos- 
sible by  the  trap-door  in  the  hanging-gardens,  and  greatly 
assisted  by  the  enormous  crowds  assembled  in  the  streets. 
Immense  treasures  were  found  in  his  house.  Chests  of  gold 
and  jewels,  which  his  position  had  enabled  him  to  obtain  with 
great  ease,  were  restored  to  the  royal  treasury.  Cambyses, 
however,  would  gladly  have  given  ten  times  as  much  treas- 
ure to  secure  possession  of  the  traitor. 

To  Phaedime's  despair  the  king  ordered  all  the  inhabitants 
of  the  harem,  except  his  mother,  Atossa  and  the  dying  Nitetis, 
to  be  removed  to  Susa,  two  days  after  the  accused  had  been 
declared  innocent.  Several  eunuchs  of  rank  were  deposed 
from  their  offices.  The  entire  caste  was  to  suffer  for  the  sins 
of  him  who  had  escaped  punishment. 

Oropastes,  who  had  already  entered  on  his  duties  as  regent 
of  the  kingdom,  had  clearly  proved  his  non-participation  in 
the  crime  of  which  his  brother  had  been  found  guilty,  bestowed 
the  vacant  places  exclusively  on  the  Magi.  The  demonstra- 
tion made  by  the  people  in  favor  of  Bartja  did  not  come  to 
the  king's  ears  until  the  crowd  had  long  dispersed.  Still, 
occupied  as  he  was  almost  entirely  by  his  anxiety  for  Nitetis, 
he  caused  exact  information  of  this  illegal  manifestation  to 
be  furnished  him  and  ordered  the  ringleaders  to  be  severely 
punished.  He  fancied  it  was  a  proof  that  Bartja  had  been 
trying  to  gain  favor  with  the  people,  and  Cambyses  would, 
perhaps,  have  shown  his  displeasure  by  some  open  act  if  a 
better  impulse  had  not  told  him  that  he,  and  not  Bartja,  was 
the  brother  who  stood  in  need  of  forgiveness.  In  spite  of  this, 
however,  he  could  not  get  rid  of  the  feeling  that  Bartja  had 
been,  though  innocent,  the  cause  of  the  sad  events  which  had 


326  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

just  happened,  nor  of  his  wish  to  get  him  out  of  the  way 
as  far  as  might  be,  and  he,  therefore,  gave  a  ready  consent 
to  his  brother's  wish  to  start  at  once  for  Naukratis. 

Bartja  took  a  tender  farewell  of  his  mother  and  sister  and 
started  two  days  after  his  liberation.  He  was  accompanied 
by  Gyges,  Zopyrus  and  a  numerous  retinue  charged  with 
splendid  presents  from  Cambyses  for  Sappho.  Darius  remained 
behind,  kept  back  by  his  love  for  Atossa.  The  day,  too,  was 
not  far  distant  when,  by  his  father's  wish,  he  was  to  marry 
Artystone,  the  daughter  of  Gobryas. 

Bartja  parted  from  his  friend  with  a  heavy  heart,  advising  him 
to  be  very  prudent  with  regard  to  Atossa.  The  secret  had  been 
confided  to  Kassandane,  and  she  had  promised  to  take  Darius' 
part  with  the  king. 

If  anyone  might  venture  to  raise  his  eyes  to  the  daughter 
of  Cyrus  assuredly  it  was  the  son  of  Hystaspes;  he  was  closely 
connected  by  marriage  with  the  royal  family;  belonged  like 
Cambyses  to  the  Pasargadae,  and  his  family  was  a  younger 
branch  of  the  reigning  dynasty.*  His  father  called  himself  the 
highest  noble  in  the  realm,  and  as  such  governed  the  province' 
of  Persia  proper,  the  mother  country,  to  which  this  enormous 
world-empire  and  its  ruler  owed  their  origin.  Should  the 
family  of  Cyrus  become  extinct  the  descendants  of  Hystaspes 
would  have  a  well-grounded  right  to  the  Persian  throne. 
Darius,  therefore,  apart  from  his  personal  advantages,  was 
a  fitting  claimant  for  Atossa's  hand.  And  yet  no  one  dared 
to  ask  the  king's  consent.  In  the  gloomy  state  of  mind  into 
which  he  had  been  brought  by  the  late  events  it  was  likely 
that  he  might  refuse  it,  and  such  an  answer  would  have  to 
be  regarded  as  irrevocable.  So  Bartja  was  obliged  to  leave 
Persia  in  anxiety  about  the  future  of  these  two  who  were 
very  dear  to  him. 

Croesus  promised  to  act  as  mediator  in  this  case,  also,  and 
before  Bartja  left  made  him  acquainted  with  Phanes. 

The  youth  had  heard  such  a  pleasant  account  of  the  Athe- 
nian from  Sappho  that  he  met  him  with  great  cordiality  a,nd 
soon  won  the  fancy  of  the  older  and  more  experienced  man 
who  gave  him  many  a  useful  hint,  and  a  letter  to  Theopom- 

*In  the  inscription  of  Behistan  there  is  a  pedigree  of  the  family  of 
Darius  which  can  be  reconciled  with  the  one  for  which  we  are  prin- 
cipally indebted  to  Herodotus.  "Inscription  of  Behistan,"  i,  sec.  2. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  327 

pus,  the  Milesian,  at  Naukratis.*  Phanes  concluded  by  asking 
for  a  private  interview. 

When  Bartja  returned  to  his  friends  he  looked  grave  and 
thoughtful;  soon,  however,  he  forgot  his  cause  of  anxiety 
and  joked  merrily  with  them  over  a  farewell'  cup.  Before 
he  mounted  his  horse  the  next  morning  Nebenchari  asked  to 
be  allowed  an  audience.  He  was  admitted,  and  begged  Bartja 
to  take  the  charge  of  a  large  writen  roll  for  King  Amasis. 
It  contained  a  detailed  account  of  Nitetis'  sufferings,  ending 
with  these  words:  "Thus  the  unhappy  victim  of  your  ambi- 
tious plans  will  end  her  life  in  a  few  hours  by  poison,  to  the 
use  of  which  she  was  driven  by  despair.  The  arbitrary  caprices 
of  the  mighty  can  efface  all  happiness  from  the  life  of  a  human 
creature  just  as  we  wipe  a  picture  from  the  tablet  with  a 
sponge.  Your  servant,  Nebenchari,  is  pining  in  a  foreign 
land,  deprived  of  home  and  property,  and  the  wretched  daugh- 
ter of  the  king  of  Egypt  dies  a  miserable  and  lingering  death 
by  her  own  hand.  Her  body  will  be  torn  to  pieces  by  dogs 
and  vultures  after  the  manner  of  the  Persians.  Woe  unto 
them  who  rob  the  innocent  of  happiness  here  and  rest  beyond 
the  grave!" 

Bartja  had  not  been  told  the  contents  of  this  letter,  but 
promised  to  take  it  with  him;  he  then,  amid  the  joyful  shouts 
of  the  people,  set  up  outside  the  city  gate  the  stones  which, 
according  to  Persian  superstition,f  were  to  secure  him  a  pros- 
perous journey  and  left  Babylon. 

Nebenchari,  meanwhile,  prepared  to  return  to  his  post  by 
Nitetis'  dying-bed. 

*It  is  clear  from  different  passages  in  the  classics  that  the  ancient 
Greeks  were  accustomed  to  take  introductions  with  them  on  their 
journeys.  These  consisted  sometimes  of  letters,  sometimes  merely  of 
the  impression  of  a  seal.  Even  as  early  as  the  Iliad,  Glaukus  men- 
tions such  a  symbolon.  Compare  Plutarch,  "Artaxerxes,"  xviii,  and 
especially  Bockh,  "Corp.  Insc.,"  i,  p.  126.  "Marmor  Oxon.,"  ii,  24.  In 
this  inscription  mention  is  made  of  the  letter  of  recommendation  or 
token  (<n>6o?.a)  which  Strato,  the  king  of  Sidon,  might  give,  say,  to 
his  ambassadors  to  Athens.  A  passport  (aQpayif)  abroad  is  also 
spoken  of  in  the  "Birds  of  Aristophanes,"  1212.  This  was  provided 
with  the  government  seal.  The  Lokrian  seal  bore  the  evening-star; 
the  Samian  a  lyre,  and  so  on.  See  note  p.  219. 

tThis  superstition  prevails  even  to  the  present  day.  Morier, 
"Zweite,  Reise,"  in  Bertuch's  "Neuer  Bibliothek  der  Reisebeschrei- 
bungen."  See,  also,  de  Wette,  "Archaologie,"  sec.  192. 


328  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

Just  as  he  reached  tne  brazen  gates  between  the  harem 
gardens  and  the  courts  of  the  large  palace  an  old  man  in 
white  robes  came  up  to  him.  The  sight  seemed  to  fill  Neben- 
chari  with  terror;  he  started  as  if  the  gaunt  old  man  had 
been  a  ghost.  Seeing,  however,  a  friendly  and  familiar  smile 
on  the  face  of  the  other  he  quickened  his  steps,  and,  holding 
out  his  hand  with  a  heartiness  for  which  none  of  his  Persian 
acquaintances  would  have  given  him  credit,  exclaimed  in 
Egyptian:  "Can  I  believe  my  eyes?  You  in  Persia,  old  Hib?* 
I  should  as  soon  have  expected  the  sky  to  fall  as  to  have  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  you  on  the  Euphrates.  But  now,  in  the 
name  of  Osiris,  tell  me  what  can  have  induced  you,  you  old 
ibis,  to  leave  your  warm  nest  on  the  Nile  and  set  out  on 
such  a  long  journey  eastward." 

While  Nebenchari  was  speaking  the  old  man  listened  in  a 
bowing  posture,  with  his  arms  hanging  down  by  his  side,  and 
when  he  had  finished  looked  up  into  his  faee  with  indescrib- 
able joy,  touched  his  breast  with  trembling  fingers,  and  then, 
falling  on  the  right  knee,  laying  one  hand  on  his  heart  and 
raising  the  other  to  heaven,  cried:  "Thanks  be  unto  thee, 
great  Isis,  for  protecting  the  wanderer  and  permitting  him 
to  see  his  master  once  more  in  health  and  safety.  Ah,  child, 
how  anxious  I  have  been!  I  expected  to  find  you  as  wasted 
and  thin  as  a  convict  from  the  quarries;  I  thought  you  would 
have  been  grieving  and  unhappy,  and  here  you  are,  as  well 
and  handsome  and  portly  as  ever.  If  poor  old  Hib  had  been 
in  your  place  he  would  have  been  dead  long  ago." 

"Yes,  I  don't  doubt  that,  old  fellow.  I  did  not  leave  home 
of  my  own  will,  either,  nor  without  many  a  heartache.  These 
foreigners  are  all  the  children  of  Seth.f  The  good  and  gra- 
cious gods  are  only  to  be  found  in  Egypt  on  the  shores  of  the 
sacred,  blessed  Nile." 

"I  don't,  know  much  about  its  being  so  blessed,"  muttered 
tfte  old  man. 

"You  frighten  me,  .father  Hib.    What  has  happened,  then?" 

"Happened!  Things  have  come  to  a  pretty  pass  there, 
and  you'll  hear  of  it  soon  enough.  Do  you  think  I  should 

*In  ancient  Egyptian  Hib  signifies  an  ibis.     Many  of  the  ancient 
Egyptians  were  called  after  sacred  animals. 
tSee  note  p.  89. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  329 

have  left  house  and  grandchildren  at  my  age — going  on  for 
eighty — like  any  Greek  or  Phoenician  vagabond,  and  come  out 
among  these  godless  foreigners  (the  gods  blast  and  destroy 
them),  if  I  could  possibly  have  staid  in  Egypt?" 

"But  tell  me  what  it's  all  about." 

"Some  other  time,  some  other  time.  Now  you  must  take 
me  to  your  own  house,  and  I  won't  stir  out  of  it  as  long  as 
we  are  in  this  land  of  Typhon." 

The  old  man  said  this  with  so  much  emphasis  that  Neben- 
chari  could  not  help  smiling  and  saying:  "Have  they  treated 
you  so  very  badly  then,  old  man?" 

"Pestilence  and  kamsin!"*  blustered  the  old  man.  "There's 
not  a  more  good-for-nothing  Typhon's  brood  on  the  face  of 
the  earth  than  these  Persians.  I  only  wonder  they're  not  all 
red-haired  and  leprous.  Ah,  child,  two  whole  days  I  have 
been  in  this  hell  already,  and  all  that  time  I  was  obliged  to 
live  among  these  blasphemers.  They  said  no  one  could  see 
you ;  you  were  never  allowed  to  leave  Nitetis'  sick-bed.  Poor 
child !  I  have  always  said  this  marriage  with  a  foreigner  would 
come  to  no  good,  and  it  serves  Amasis  right  if  his  children 
give  him  trouble.  His  conduct  to  you  alone  deserves  that." 

"For  shame,  old  man!" 

"Xonsense;  one  must  speak  one's  mind  sometimes.  I  hate 
a  king  who  comes  from  nobody  knows  where.  Why,  when 
he  was  a  poor  boy  he  used  to  steal  your  father's  nuts  and 
wrench  the  name-plates  off  the  house  doors.  I  saw  he  was 
a  good-for-nothing  fellow  then.  It's  a  shame  that  such  people 
should  be  allowed  to '' 

"Gently,  gently,  old  man.  We  are  not  all  made  of  the 
same  stuff,  and  if  there  was  such  a  little  difference  between 
you  and  Amasis  as  boys,  it  is  your  own  fault  that,  now  you 
are  old  men,  he  has  outstripped  you  so  far." 

"My  father  and  grandfather 'were  both  servants  in  the  tem- 
ple, and  of  course  I  followed  in  their  footsteps."f 

*The  southwest  wind,  which  does  so  much  injury  to  the  crops  in 
the  Nile  valley.  It  is  known  to  us  as  the  simoon,  the  wind  so  perilous 
to  travelers  in  the  desert. 

tThe  son  was  usually  obliged  to  follow  the  same  profession  as  his 
father.  "Diocl.,"  i.  74.  Lepsius  has  discovered  some  remarkably  long 
family  pedigrees  in  which  every  member  belonged  to  the  same  calling. 
Rut  the  castes  among  the  Egyptians  were  not  so  rigidly  circumscribed 
ris  in  India,  for  we  see  from  the  monuments  that  the  son  of  a  priest 


330  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"Quite  right;  it  is  the  law  of  caste,  and  by  that  rule  Amasis 
ought  never  to  have  become  anything  higher  than  a  poor 
army  captain  at  most." 

"It  is  not  everyone  who's  got  such  an  easy  conscience  as 
this  upstart  fellow." 

"There  you  are  again!  For  shame,  Hib!  As  long  as  I  can 
remember,  and  that  is  nearly  half  a  century,  every  other  word 
with  you  has  been  an  abusive  one.  When  I  was  a  child  your 
ill-temper  was  vented  on  me,  and  now  the  king  has  the  benefit 
of  it." 

"Serves  him  right!  Ah,  if  you  only  knew  all!  It's  now 
seven  months  since 

"I  can't  stop  to  listen  to  you  now.  At  the  rising  of  the 
seven  stars  I  will  send  a  slave  to  take  you  to  my  rooms.  Till 
then  you  must  stay  in  your  present  lodging,  for  I  must  go 
to  my  patient." 

"You  must?  Very  well — then  go  and  leave  poor  old  Hib 
here  to  die.  I  can't  possibly  live  another  hour  among  these 
creatures." 

"What  would  you  have  me  do,  then?" 

"Let  me  live  with  you  as  long  as  we  are  in  Persia." 

"Have  they  treated  you  so  very  roughly?" 

"I  should  think  they  had,  indeed.  It  is  loathsome  to  think 
of.  They  forced  me  to  eat  out  of  the  same  pot  with  them 
and  cut  my  bread  with  the  same  knife.  An  infamous  Persian, 
who  had  lived  many  years  in  Egypt,  and  traveled  here  with 
us,  had  given  them  a  list  of  all  the  things  and  actions  which 
we  consider  unclean.*  They  took  away  my  knife  when  I  was 
going  to  shave  myself.  A  good-for-nothing  wench  kissed  me 
on  the  forehead  before  I  could  prevent  it.  There,  you  needn't 

could  enter  the  army,  and  vice  versa;  that  sons  of  the  same  father 
could  devote  themselves  to  different  professions;  and,  also  (on  which 
point  we  have  favorable  evidence  in  some  hieratic  manuscripts,  the 
contents  of  which  are  of  a  didactic  character),  that  young  men  were 
allowed  to  choose  their  own  professions.  Without  question,  however, 
it  was  more  usual,  and  considered  preferable,  to  remain  in  the  father's 
calling.  This,  indeed,  was  the  case  among  all  ancient  nations,  not  ex- 
cepting the  Greeks. 

*0n  the  numerous  methods  of  purification,  by  washing,  shaving, 
purging,  etc.,  see  "Herod.,"  ii,  37,  41,  47,  77.  Plutarch,  "Isis  and 
Osiris,"  5.  "Genesis,"  41  and  43,  Ebers,  "Aegypten  u,  d.  Bueher 
Mose's,"  i,  p.  350. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  331 

laugh;  it  will  be  a  month  at  least  before  I  can  get  purified 
from  all  these  pollutions.  I  took  an  emetic,  and  when  that 
at  last  began  to  take  effect  they  all  mocked  and  sneered  at 
me.  But  that  was  not  all.  A  cursed  cook-boy  nearly  beat  a 
sacred  kitten  to  death  before  my  very  eyes.  Then  an  oint- 
ment mixer,  who  heard  that  I  was  your  servant,  made  that 
godless  Bubares  ask  me  whether  I  could  cure  diseases  of  the 
eye  too.  I  said  yes,  because  you  know  in  sixty  years  it's 
rather  hard  if  one  can't  pick  up  something  from  one's  master. 
Bubares  was  interpreter  between  us,  and  the  shameful  fellow 
told  him  to  say  that  he  was  very  much  disturbed  about  a 
dreadful  disease  in  his  eyes.  I  asked  what  it  was,  and  received 
for  answer  that  he  could  not  tell  one  thing  from  another  in 
the  dark!" 

"You  should  have  told  him  that  the  best  remedy  for  that 
was  to  light  a  candle." 

"Oh,  I  hate  the  rascals!  Another  hour  among  them  will 
be  the  death  of  me!" 

"I  am  sure  you  behaved  oddly  enough  among  these  for- 
eigners," said  Nebenchari,  smiling;  "you  must  have  made 
them  laugh  at  you,  for  the  Persians  are  generally  very  polite, 
well-behaved  people.*  Try  them  again,  only  once.  I  shall 
be  very  glad  to  take  you  in  this  evening,  but  I  can't  possibly 
do  it  before." 

"It  is  as  I  thought!  He's  altered,  too,  like  everybody  else! 
Osiris  is  dead  and  Seth  rules  the  world  again." 

"Farewell!  When  the  seven  stars  rise  our  old  Ethiopian 
slave,  Nebununf,  will  wait  for  you  here." 

"Xebununf,  that  old  rogue?    I  never  want  to  see  him  again." 

"Yes,  the  very  same." 

"H'm — well,  it's  a  good  thing  when  people  stay  as  they 
were.  To  be  sure;  I  know  some  people  who  can't  say  so 
much  of  themselves,  and  who,  instead  of  minding  their  own 
business,  pretend  to  heal  inward  diseases,  and  when  a  faith- 
ful old  servant " 

"Hold  your  tongue,  and  wait  patiently  till  evening." 

These  last  words  were  spoken  seriously,  and  produced  the 
desired  impression.  The  old  man  made  another  obeisance, 
and,  before  his  master  left  him,  said:  "I  came  here  under 

*"Herod.,"  i,  134. 


332  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

the  protection  of  Phanes,  the  former  commander  of  the  Greek 
mercenaries.  He  wishes  very  much  to  speak  with  you.v 

"That  is  his  concern.    He  can  come  to  me." 

"You  never  leave  that  sick  girl,  whose  eyes  are  as  sound 
as " 

"Hib!"' 

"For  all  I  care  she  may  have  a  cataract  in  both.  May 
Phanes  come  to  you  this  evening?" 

"I  wished  to  be  alone  with  you." 

"So  did  I;  but  the  Greek  seems  to  be  in  a  great  hurry, 
and  he  knows  nearly  everything  that  I  have  to  tell  you." 

"Have  you  been  gossiping,  then?" 

"No — not  exactly — but — 

"I  always  thought  you  were  a  man  to  be  trusted." 

"So  I  was.  But  this  Greek  knows  already  a  great  deal  of 
what  I  know,  and  the  rest — 

"Well?" 

"The  rest  he  got  out  of  me,  I  hardly  know  how  myself. 
If  I  did  not  wear  this  amulet  against  an  evil  eye  I  should 
have  been  obliged " 

"Yes,  yes,  I  know  the  Athenian — I  can  forgive  you.  I 
should  like  him  to  come  with  you  this  evening.  But  I  see 
the  sun  is  already  high  in  the  heavens.  I  have  no  time  to 
>ose.  Tell  me  in  a  few  words  what  has  happened." 

"I  thought  this  evening — 

"No,  I  must  have,  at  least,  a  general  idea  of  what  has 
happened  before  I  see  the  Athenian.  Be  brief." 

"You  have  been  robbed!" 

"Is  that  all?" 

"Is  not  that  enough?" 

"Answer  me.     Is  that  all?" 

"Yes!" 

"Then  farewell." 

"But,  Nebendiari " 

The  physician  did  not  even  hear  this  exclamation;  the 
gates  of  the  harem  had  already  closed  behind  him. 


When  the  Pleiades  had  risen  Nebenchari  was  to  be  found 
seated  alone  in  one  of  the  magnificent  rooms  assigned  to 
his  use  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  palace,  near  to  Kassandanr'- 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  333 

apartments.  The  friendly  manner  in  which  he  had  welcomed 
his  old  servant  had  given  place  to  the  serious  expression  which 
his  face  usually  wore,  and  which  had  led  the  cheerful  Persian? 
to  call  him  a  morose  and  gloomy  man. 

Nebenchari  was  an  Egyptian  priest  through  and  through; 
a  member  of  that  caste  which  never  indulged  in  a  jest,  and 
never  for  a  moment  forgot  to  be  dignified  and  solemn  before 
the  public;  but  when  among  their  relations  and  colleagues 
completely  threw  off  this  self-imposed  restraint,  and  gave  way 
at  times  even  to  exuberant  mirth. 

Though  he  had  known  Phanes  in  Sais,  he  received  him 
with  cold  politeness,  and,  after  the  first  greeting  was  ended, 
told  Hib  to  leave  them  alone. 

"I  have  to  you,"  said  the  Athenian,  "to  speak  about  some 
very  important  affairs." 

"With  which  I  am  already  acquainted,"  was  the  Egyptian's 
curt  reply. 

"I  am  inclined  to  doubt  that,"  said  Phanes,  with  an  incred- 
ulous smile. 

"You  have  been  driven  out  of  Egypt,  persecuted  and  insulted 
by  Psamtik,  and  you  have  come  to  Persia  to  enlist  Cambyses 
as  an  instrument  of  revenge  against  my  country/' 

"You  are  mistaken.  I  have  nothing  against  your  country, 
but  all  the  more  against  Amasis  and  his  house." 

"In  Egypt  the  state  and  the  king  are  one,  as  you  very  well 
know." 

"On  the  contrary,  my  own  observations  have  led  me  to 
think  that  the  priests  considered  themselves  one  with  the 
state." 

"In  that  case  you  are  better  informed  than  I,  who  have 
always  looked  on  the  kings  of  Egypt  as  absolute." 

"So  they  are;  but  only  in  proportion  as  they  know  how 
to  emancipate  themselves  from  the  influence  of  your  caste. 
Amasis  himself  submits  to  the  priests  now." 

"Strange  intelligence!" 

"With  which,  however,  you  have  already  long  been  made 
acquainted." 

"Is  that  your  opinion?" 

"Certainly  it  is.  And  I  know  with  still  greater  certainty 
that  once — vou  hear  me,  once — he  succeeded  in  bending  the 
will  of  these  rulers  of  his  to  his  own." 


334  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"I  very  seldom  hear  news  from  home  and  do  not  under- 
stand what  you  are  speaking  of." 

"There,  I  believe  you,  for  if  you  knew  what  I  meant  and 
could  stand  there  quietly  without  clinching  your  fist,  you 
would  be  no  better  than  a  dog  who  only  whimpers  when  he's 
kicked  and  licks  the  hand  that  torments  him." 

The  physician  turned  pale.  "I  know  that  Amasis  has  injured 
and  insulted  me,"  he  said,  "but  at  the  same  time  I  must  tell 
you  that  revenge  is  far  too  sweet  a  morsel  to  be  shared  with 
a  stranger." 

"Well  said!  As  to  my  own  revenge,  however,  I  can  only 
compare  it  to  a  vineyard  where  the  grapes  are  so  plentiful 
that  I  am  not  able  to  gather  them  all  myself." 

"And  you  have  come  hither  to  hire  good  laborers?" 

"Quite  right,  and  I  do  not  even  yet  give  up  the  hope  of 
securing  you  to  take  a  share  in  my  vintage." 

"You  are  mistaken.  My  work  is  already  done.  The  gods 
themselves  have  taken  it  in  hand.  Amasis  has  been  severely 
enough  punished  for  banishing  me  from  country,  friends  and 
pupils  into  this  unclean  land." 

"You  mean  by  his  blindness,  perhaps?" 

"Possibly." 

"Then  you  have  not  heard  that  Petammon,  one  of  your 
colleagues,  has  succeeded  in  cutting  the  skin  which  covered 
the  pupil  of  the  eye  and  so  restoring  Amasis'  sight?" 

The  Egyptian  started  and  ground  his  teeth;  recovered  his 
presence  of  mind,  however,  in  a  moment,  and  answered: 
"Then  the  gods  have  punished  the  father  through  the  chil- 
dren." 

"In  what  way?  Psamtik  suits  his  father's  present  mood 
very  well.  It  is  true  that  Tachot  is  ill,  but  she  prays  and 
sacrifices  with  her  father  all  the  more  for  that;  and,  as  to 
Nitetis,  you  and  I  both  know  that  her  death  will  not  touch 
him  very  closely." 

"I  really  do  not  understand  you." 

"Of  course  not,  so  long  as  you  fancy  that  I  believe  your 
beautiful  patient  to  be  Amasis'  daughter." 

The  Egyptian  started  again,  but  Phanes  went  on  without 
appearing  to  notice  his  emotion:  "I  know  more  than  you 
suppose.  Nitetis  is  the  daughter  of  Hophra,  Amasis'  dethroned 
predecessor.  Amasis  brought  her  up  as  his  own  child — first, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  3S5 

in  order  to  make  the  Egyptians  believe  that  Hophra  had  died 
childless;  secondly,  in  order  to  deprive  her  of  her  rights  to 
the  throne;  for  you  know  women  are  allowed  to  govern  on 
the  Nile."* 

"These  are  mere  suppositions." 

"For  which,  however,  I  can  bring  irrefragable  proofs. 
Among  the  papers  which  your  old  servant  Hib  brought  with 
him  in  a  small  box  there  must  be  some  letters  from  a  certain 
Sonnophre,  a  celebrated  accoucheur,f  your  own  father, 
which " 

"If  that  be  the  case  those  letters  are  my  property,  and  I 
have  not  the  slightest  intention  of  giving  them  up;  besides 
which  you  might  search  Persia  from  one  end  to  the  other 
without  finding  anyone  who  could  decipher  my  father's  writ- 
ing." 

"Pardon  me  if  I  point  out  one  or  two  errors  into  which 
you  have  fallen.  First,  this  box  is  at  present  in  my  hands, 
and,  though  I  am  generally  accustomed  to  respect  the  rights 
of  property,  I  must  assure  you  that,  in  the  present  instance, 
I  shall  not  return  the  box  until  its  contents  have  served  my 
purpose.  Secondly,  the  gods  have  so  ordained  that  just  at 
this  moment  there  is  a  man  in  Babylon  who  can  read  every 
kind  of  writing  known  to  the  Egyptian  priests.  Do  you,  per- 
haps, happen  to  know  the  name  of  Onuphis?" 

For  the  third  time  the  Egyptian  turned  pale.  "Are  you 
certain,"  he  said,  "that  this  man  is  still  among  the  living?" 

"I  spoke  to  him  myself  yesterday.  He  was  formerly,  you 
know,  high-priest  at  Heliopolis,  and  was  initiated  into  all  your 
mysteries  there.  My  wise  countryman,  Pythagoras  of  Samos, 
came  to  Egypt,  and,  after  submitting  to  some  of  your  cere- 


*In  the  list  of  kings  of  Egypt  the  names  of  many  queens  occur  who 
reigned  in  their  own  right,  and  these  are  corroborated  by  the  monu- 
mental inscriptions.  Lauth,  indeed,  in  his  "Manetho,"  is  of  opinion 
that  the  divisions  of  the  dynasties  are  connected  with  the  reigns  of 
the  queens. 

tTo  judge  from  the  pictures  on  the  monuments  and  from  the  first 
chapter  of  Exodus  it  would  seem  that  in  ancient,  as  in  modern  Egypt, 
midwives  were  usually  called  in  to  assist  at  the  birth  of  children;  but 
it  is  also  certain  that  in  difficult  cases  physicians  were  employed  also. 
In  the  hieratic  medical  papyrus  in  Berlin  women  are  often  spoken  of 
as  assisting  at  such  times. 


336  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

monies,*  was  allowed  to  attend  the  lessons  given  in  the  schools 
for  priests.  His  remarkable  talents  won  the  love  of  the  great 
Onuphis  and  he  taught  him  all  the  Egyptian  mysteries,f 
which  Pythagoras  afterward  turned  to  account  for  the  benefit 
of  mankind.  My  delightful  friend  Rhodopis  and  I  are  proud 
of  having  been  his  pupils.  When  the  rest  of  your  caste  heard 
that  Onuphis  had  betrayed  the  sacred  mysteries  the  eccle- 
siastical judges  determined  on  his  death.  This  was  to  be 
caused  by  a  poison  extracted  from  peach  kernels.  The  con- 
demned man,  however,  heard  of  their  machinations,  and  fled 
to  Naukratis,  where  he  found  a  safe  asylum  in  the  house  of 
Rhodopis,  whom  he  had  heard  highly  praised  by  Pythagoras 

*Iamblichus,  "De  Vita  Pythagorae,"  ii,  p.  18,  ed.  Kiessl.  "Diod.,"  i, 
98.  Plutarch,  "Quaest.  Conv.,"  viii,  8,  2.  Onuphis  is  also  called  Oinu- 
phis.  In  connection  with  this  subject  much  is  to  be  found  in  Roth, 
"Geschichte  Unserer  Abendlandischen  Philosophic."  It  is  a  pity  that 
this  clever  book,  which  has  been  the  result  of  such  extended  studies, 
should  lose  in  value  by  the  reckless  boldness  of  its  combinations. 

•(•Notwithstanding  all  the  fables  told  about  the  Egyptian  mysteries 
by  the  later  Greek  writers,  especially  the  Neo-Platonists,  we  can  gel 
no  clear  idea  of  them.  Much  on  this  subject  has  been  preserved  in 
the  papyri,  but  unfortunately  whenever  the  mysteries  are  touched 
upon  the  language  of  the  priestly  writers  becomes  so  overloaded  with 
metaphors  and  is  made  purposely  so  obscure  that  it  is  very  difficult 
to  discover  their  meaning.  The  mysteries  seem  to  have  been  the  ex- 
clusive property  of  the  priests  (see,  also,  Pint.,  "Isis  and  Osiris,"  4-11), 
and  to  have  comprehended  what  was  symbolized  in  the  sacred  cere- 
monies. The  belief  in  only  one  god  (as  the  ritual  of  the  dead  teaches, 
also,)  seems  to  have  been  at  the  root  of  these  mysteries,  and  they 
must  have  contained  much  that  is  noble  and  beautiful,  as  the  wisest 
Greek  philosophers,  Lycurgus,  Solon,  Thales,  Pythagoras,  Democritus, 
Plato  and  many  others,  borrowed  much  from  them  in  their  teaching 
on  political  economy,  geometry,  astronomy,  and  philosophy.  Moses, 
too,  owed  many  of  his  moral  and  sanitary  laws  to  the  acquaintance 
with  these  mysteries,  which  he  made  as  pupil  of  the  Egyptian  priests. 
See  note  p.  189.  A  great  deal  of  erudition  has  been  spent  by  modern 
scholars  on  this  subject,  with  but  very  small  result;  as,  for  instance, 
by  I.  G.  Bremer,  "Symbolische  Weisheit  der  Aegypter,"  etc.;  R.  How- 
ard, "Revelations  of  Egyptian  Mysteries;"  F.  Nork.  "Andeutungen 
eines  Systems  der  Priesterlichen  Mysteriosophie  und  Hierologie,"  etc. 
A  thorough  understanding  of  the  ritual  of  the  dead  (already  translated 
by  Birch  in  his  English  translation  of  Bunsen's  "Egypt's  Place  in  the 
History  of  the  World")  and  the  publication  of  the  existing  hieratic 
papyri,  which,  in  the  present  advanced  state  of  Egyptian  philology, 
must  soon  be  compelled  to  yield  their  secrets  to  earnest  students,  will 
in  many  ways  clear  up  these  mysteries  of  mysteries,  if  not  do  away 
•with  them  entirely.  Much  has  been  already  gained  in  this  direction. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  337 

and  whose  dwelling  was  rendered  inviolable  by  the  king's 
letter.  Here  he  met  Antimenidas,  the  brother  of  the  poet 
Alcaetis*  of  Lesbos,  who,  having  been  banished  by  Pittakus, 
the  wise  ruler  of  Alitylene,  had  gone  to  Babylon,  and  there 
taken  service  in  the  army  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  king  of 
Assyria.  Antimenidas  gave  him  letters  to  the  Chaldaeans. 
Onuphis  traveled  to  the  Euphrates,  settled  there,  and  was 
obliged  to  seek  for  some  means  of  earning  his  daily  bread, 
as  he  had  left  Egypt  a  poor  man.  He  is  now  supporting  him- 
self in  his  old  age  by  the  assistance  which  his  superior  knowl- 
edge enables  him  to  render  the  Chaldaeans  in  their  astronom- 
ical observations  from  the  tower  of  Bel.  Onuphis  is  nearly 
eighty,  but  his  mind  is  as  clear  as  ever,  and  when  I  saw  him 
yesterday  and  asked  him  to  help  me,  his  eyes  brightened  as 
he  promised  to  do  so.  Your  father  was  one  of  his  judges,  but 
he  bears  you  no  malice  and  sends  you  a  greeting." 

Nebenchari's  eyes  were  fixed  thoughtfully  on  the  ground 
during  this  tale.  When  Phanes  had  finished  he  gave  him  a 
penetrating  look  and  said:  ''Where  are  my  papers?" 

"They  are  in  Onuphis'  hands.  He  is  looking  among  them 
for  the  document  I  want." 

"I  expected  to  hear  that.  Be  so  good  as  to  tell  me  what 
the  box  is  like  which  Hib  thought  proper  to  bring  over  to 
Persia." 

"It  is  a  small  ebony  trunk." 

"That  contains  nothing  but  a  few  of  my  father's  notices 
and  memorandums,"  said  Xebenchari,  drawing  a  deep  breath 
of  relief. 

"They  will  very  likely  be  sufficient  for  my  purpose.  I  do 
not  know  whether  you  have  heard  that  I  stand  as  high  as 
possible  in  Cambyses'  favor." 

"So  much  the  better  for  you.  I  can  assure  you,  however, 
that  the  papers  which  would  have  been  most  useful  to  you 
have  all  been  left  behind  in  Egypt." 

"They  were  in  a  large  chest  made  of  sycamore  wood  and 
painted  in  colors." 

"How  do  you  know  that?" 

"Because— now  listen  well  to  what  I  am  going  to  say, 
Nebenchari— because  I  can  tell  you  (I  do  not  swear,  for  our 
great  master  Pythagoras  forbade  oaths)  that  this  very  chest, 

*See  note,  p.  9  (Alcaeus). 


338  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

with  all  it  contained,  was  burned  in  the  grove  of  the  temple 
of  Neith,  in  Sais,  by  order  of  the  king/' 

Phanes  spoke  slowly,  emphasizing  every  syllable,  and  the 
words  seemed  to  strike  the  Egyptian  like  so  many  flashes  of 
lightning.  His  quiet  coolness  and  deliberation  gave  way  to 
violent  emotion;  his  cheeks  glowed  and  his  eyes  flashed.  But 
only  for  one  single  minute;  then  the  strong  emotion  seemed 
to  freeze,  his  burning  cheeks  grew  pale.  "You  are  trying 
to  make  me  hate  my  friends  in  order  to  gain  me  as  your  ally," 
1?ie  said,  coldly  and  calmly.  "I  know  you  Greeks  very  well. 
You  are  so  intriguing  and  artful  that  there  is  no  lie,  no  fraud, 
too  base,  if  it  will  only  help  to  gain  your  purpose." 

"You  judge  me  and  my  countrymen  in  true  Egyptian 
fashion;  that  is,  they  are  foreigners  and  therefore  must  be 
bad  men.  But  this  time  your  suspicions  happen  to  be  mis- 
placed. Send  for  old  Hib ;  he  will  tell  you  whether  I  am  right 
or  not." 

Nebenchari's  face  darkened  as  Hib  came  into  the  room. 

"Come  nearer,"  said  he,  in  a  commanding  tone,  to  the  old 
man. 

Hib  obeyed  with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders. 

"Tell  me,  have  you  taken  a  bribe  from  this  man?  Yes  or 
no?  I  must  know  the  truth;  it  can  influence  my  future  for 
good  or  evil.  You  are  an  old  and  faithful  servant,  to  whom 
I  owe  a  great  deal,  and  so  I  will  forgive  you  if  you  were 
taken  in  by  his  artifices,  but  I  must  know  the  truth.  I  con- 
jure you  to  tell  me,  by  the  souls  of  your  fathers  gone  to  Osiris!" 

The  old  man's  sallow  face  turned  ashy  pale  as  he  heard 
these  words.  He  gulped  and  wheezed  some  time  before  he 
could  find  an  answer,  and,  at  last,  after  choking  down  the 
tears  which  had  forced  their  way  to  his  eyes,  said,  in  a  half 
angry,  half  whining  tone:  "Didn't  I  say  so?  they've  bewitched 
him — they've  ruined  him  in  this  wicked  land.  Whatever  a 
man  would  do  himself  he  thinks  others  are  capable  of.  Ay, 
you  may  look  as  angry  as  you  like;  it  matters  but  little  to 
me.  What  can  it  mattei,  indeed,  to  an  old  man  who  has 
served  the  same  family  faithfully  and  honestly  for  sixty  years 
if  they  call  him  at  last  a  rogue,  a  knave,  a  traitor — nay,  even 
a  murderer,  if  it  should  take  their  fancy?" 

And  the  scalding  tears  flowed  down  over  the  old  man's 
cheeks  sorely  against  his  will. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  339 

The  easily  moved  Phanes  clapped  him  on  the  shoulder  and 
said,  turning  to  Nebenchari:  "Hib  is  a  faithful  fellow.  I 
give  you  leave  to  call  me  a  rascal  if  he  has  taken  one  single 
obolus  from  me." 

The  physician  did  not  need  Phanes'  assurance;  he  had 
known  his  old  servant  too  well  and  too  long  not  to  be  able  to 
read  his  simple,  open  features,  on  which  his  innocence  was 
written  as  clearly  as  in  the  pages  of  an  open  book.  "I  did 
not  mean  to  reproach  you,  old  Hib,"  he  said  kindly,  coming 
up  to  him.  "How  can  anyone  be  so  angry  at  a  simple  ques- 
tion?" 

"Perhaps  you  expect  me  to  be  pleased  at  such  a  shameful 
suspicion?" 

"No,  not  that;  but  at  all  events  now  you  can  tell  me  what 
has  happened  at  our  house  since  I  left." 

"A  pretty  story  that  is!  Why,  only  to  think  of  it  makes 
my  mouth  as  bitter  as  if  I  were  chewing  wormwood." 

"You  said  I  had  been  robbed." 

"Yes,  indeed;  no  one  was  ever  so  robbed  before.  There 
would  have  been  some  comfort  if  the  knaves  had  belonged 
to  the  thieves'  caste,*  for  then  we  should  have  got  the  best 
part  of  our  property  back  again,  and  should  not,  after  all, 
have  been  worse  off  than  many  another;'  but  when " 

"Keep  to  the  point,  for  my  time  is  limited." 

"You  need  not  tell  me  that;  I  see  old  Hib  can't  do  any- 
thing right  here  in  Persia.  Well,  be  it  so,  you're  master; 
you  must  give  orders;  I  am  only  the  servant,  I  must  obey. 
I  won't  forget  it.  Well,  as  I  was  saying,  it  was  just  at  the 
time  when  the  great  Persian  embassy  came  over  to  Sais  to 

*The  cunning  son  of  the  architect  who  robbed  the  treasure-house  of 
Rhampsinitus  was,  according  to  "Herodotus"  (ii,  120),  severely  pun- 
isi:ed;  but  in  "Diod.,"  i,  80,  and  "Aul.  Gell.,"  xi,  18,  we  see  that  when 
thieves  acknowledged  themselves  to  the  authorities  to  be  such  they 
were  not  punished,  though  a  strict  watch  was  set  over  them.  Accord- 
ing to  Diodorus,  there  was  a  president  of  the  thieves'  caste,  from  whom 
the  stolen  goods  could  be  reclaimed  on  relinquishment  of  afourthpart 
of  the  same.  This  strange  rule  probably  owed  its  rise  to  the  law 
which  compelled  every  Egyptian  to  appear  once  in  each  year  before 
the  authorities  of  his  district  and  give  an  account  of  his  means  of 
subsistence.  Those  who  made  false  statements  were  punished  with 
death.  "Diod.,"  i,  77.  Thus  no  one  who  valued  his  life  could  escape . 
the  watchful  eye  of  the  police,  and  the  thief  sacrificed  the  best  part  of 
his  gains  in  order  to  save  his  life. 


340  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

fetch  Nitetis,  and  made  everybody  stare  at  them  as  if  they 
were  monsters  or  prodigies,  that  this  shameful  thing  hap- 
pened. I  was  sitting  on  the  mosquito  tower  just  as  the  sun 
was  setting,  playing  with  my  little  grandson,  my  baner's* 
eldest  boy — he's  a-  fine,  strapping  little  lad  now,  wonderfully 
sharp  and  strong  for  his  age.  The  rogue  was  just  telling  me 
how  his  father — the  Egyptians  do  that  when  their  wives  leave 
the  children  too  much  alone — had  hidden  his  mother's  shoes,f 
and  I  was  laughing  heartily,  because  my  baner  won't  let  any 
of  the  little  ones  live  with  me — she  always  says  I  spoil  them — 
and  so  I  was  glad  she  should  have  the  trick  played  her — when 
all  of  a  sudden  there  was  such  a  loud  knocking  at  the  house 
door  that  I  thought  there  must  be  a  fire  and  let  the  child  drop 
off  my  lap.  Down  the  stairs  I  ran,  three  steps  at  a  time,  as 
fast  as  my  long  legs  would  carry  me  and  unbarred  the  door. 
Before  I  had  time  to  ask  them  what  they  wanted  a  whole 
crowd  of  temple  servants  and  policemen — there  must  have 
been,  at  least,  fifteen  of  them — forced  their  way  into  the  house. 
Pichi — you  know,  that  impudent  fellow  from  the  temple  of 
Neith — pushed  me  back,  barred  the  door  inside  and  told  the 
police  to  put  me  in  fetters  if  1  refused  to  obey  him.  Of  course 
I  got  angry  and  did  not  use  very  civil  words  to  them — you 
know  that's  my  way  when.  I'm  put  out — and  what  does  that 
bit  of  a  fellow  do — by  our  god  Thoth,  the  protector  of  knowl- 
edge, who  must  know  all,  I'm  speaking  the  truth — but  order 
them  to  bind  my  hands,  forbid  me — me,  old  Hib — to  speak, 
and  then  tell  me  that  he  had  been  told  by  the  high-priest  to 
order  me  five-and-twenty  strokes  if  I  refuse  to  do  his  bidding. 
He  showed  me  the  high-priest's  ring,  and  so  I  knew  there 
was  nothing  for  it  but  to  obey  the  villain,  whether  I  would 
or  no.  And  what  was  his  rnodest  demand?  Why,  nothing 
less  than  to  give  him  all  the  written  papers  you  had  left  behind. 
But  old  Hib  is  not  quite  so  stupid  as  to  let  himself  be  caught 
in  that  way,  though  some  people,  who  ought  to  know  better, 
do  fancy  that  he  can  be  bribed  and  is  no  better  than  the  son  of 

*Baner  signifies  a  palm  tree.    Lepsius,  "Denkm.,"  iv,  74  c. 

tPlutarch  writes  that  to  walk  barefoot  in  the  streets  was  considered 
improper  among  the  Egyptians.  To  make  their  wives  domestic,  there- 
fore, the  husbands  hid  their  shoes.  It  was  the  women's  duty,  however, 
according  to  "Herod.,"  ii,  35,  to  buy  at  market,  which  seems  natural 
enough  to  us,  but  not  at  all  so  to  the  Greeks,  as  in  their  native  country 
this  duty  was  performed  by  the  men. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  341 

an  ass.  What  did  I  do  then?  I  pretended  to  be  quite  crushed 
into  submission  by  the  sight  of  the  signet  ring,  begged  Pichi 
as  politely  as  I  could  to  unfasten  my  hands,  and  told  him  I 
would  fetch  the  keys.  They  loosened  the  cords,  I  flew  up  the 
stairs  five  steps  at  the  time,  burst  open  the  door  of  your  sleeping 
room,  pushed  my  little  grandson,  who  was  standing  by  it, 
into  the  room  and  barred  it  within.  Thanks  to  my  long  legs, 
the  others  were  so  far  behind  that  I  had  time  to  get  hold  of 
the  black  box  which  you  had  told  me  to  take  so  much  care  of, 
put  it  into  the  child's  arms,  lift  him  through  the  win- 
dow onto  the  balcony  which  runs  round  the  house  toward 
the  inner  court,  and  tell  him  to  put  it  at  once 
into  the  pigeon  house.  Then  I  opened  the  door  as  if  nothing 
had  happened,  told  Pichi  the  child  had  had  a  knife  in  his 
mouth  and  that  that  was  the  reason  I  had  run  upstairs  in  such 
a  hurry,  and  had  put  him  out  on  the  balcony  to  punish  him. 
That  brother  of  a  hippopotamus  was  easily  taken  in,  and 
then  he  made  me  show  him  over  the  house.  First  they  found 
the  great  sycamore  chest  which  you  had  told  me  to  take  great 
care  of,  then  the  papyrus  rolls  on  your  writing  table,  and  so 
by  degrees  every  written  paper  in  the  house.  They  made  no 
distinction,  but  put  all  together  into  the  great  chest  and  car- 
ried it  downstairs;  the  little  black  box,  however,'  lay  safe 
enough  in  ihe  pigeon  house.  My  grandchild  is  the  sharpest 
boy  in  all  Sais! 

"When  I  saw  them  really  carrying  the  chest  downstairs 
all  the  anger  I'd  been  trying  so  hard  too  keep  down  burst  out 
again.  I  told  the  impudent  fellows  I  would  accuse  them 
before  the  magistrates — nay,  even  before  the  king,  if  neces- 
sary; and  if  those  confounded  Persians,  who  were  having  the 
city  shown  them,  had  not  come  up  just  then  and  made  every- 
body stare  at  them,  I  could  have  roused  the  crowd  to  take  my 
side.  The  same  evening  I  went  to  my  son-in-law — he  is 
employed  in  the  temple  of  Neith,  too,  you  know — and  begged 
him  to  make  every  effort  to  find  out  what  had  become  of  the 
papers.  The  good  fellow  has  never  forgotten  the  handsome 
dowry  you  gave  my  baner  when  he  married  her,  and  in  three 
days  he  came  and  told  me  he  had  seen  your  beautiful  chest 
and  all  the  rolls  it  contained  burned  to  ashes.  I  was  so  angry 
that  I  fell  ill  of  the  jaundice,  but  that  did  not  hinder  me  from 
sending  in  a  written  accusation  to  the  magistrates.  The 


342  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

wretches — I  suppose  only  because  they  were  priests,  too — 
refused  to  take  any  notice  of  me  or  my  complaint.  Then  I 
sent  in  a  petition  to  the  king,  and  was  turned  away  there,  too, 
with  the  shameful  threat  that  I  should  be  considered  guilty  of 
high  treason  if  I  mentioned  the  papers  again.  I  valued  my 
tongue  too  much  to  take  any  further  steps,*  but  the  ground 
burned  under  my  feet;  I  could  not  stay  in  Egypt;  I  wanted 
to  see  you,  tell  you  what  they  had  done  to  you,  and  call  on 
you,  who  are  more  powerful  than  your  poor  servant,  to  revenge 
yourself.  And,  besides,  I  wanted  to  see  the  black  box  safe 
in  your  hands,  lest  they  should  take  that  from  me  too.  And 
so,  old  man  as  I  am,  with  a  sad"  heart  I  left  my  home  and 
my  grandchildren  to  go  forth  into  this  foreign  Typhon's  land. 
Ah,  the  little  lad  was  too  sharp!  As  I  was  kissing  him,  he 
said:  'Stay  with  us,  grandfather.  If  the  foreigners  make  you 
unclean  they  won't  let  me  kiss  you  any  more.'  Baner  sends 
you  a  hearty  greeting,  and  my  son-in-law  told  me  to  say  he 
had  found  out  that  Psamtik,  the  crown-prince,  and  your  rival, 
Petammon,  had  been  the  sole  causes  of  this  execrable  deed. 
I  could  not  make  up  my  mind  to  trust  myself  on  that  Typhon's 
sea,  so  I  traveled  with  an  Arabian  trading  caravan  as  far  as 
Tadmor,  the  Phoenician  palm  tree  station  in  the  wilderness,f 
and  thea  on  to  Carchemish  on  the  Euphrates,  with  merchants 
from  Sidon.  The  roads  from  Sardis  and  from  Phoenicia  meet 
there,  and  as  I  was  sitting  very  w^eary  in  the  little  wood  before 
the  station,  a  traveler  arrived  with  the  royal  post  horses,  and 
I  saw  at  once  that  it  was  the  former  commander  of  the  Greek 
mercenaries." 

*The  Egyptian  law  decreed  the  cutting  out  of  the  tongue  as  punish- 
ment for  high  treason.    "Diod.,"  i,  78. 

tTadmor,  afterward  called  Palmyra,  was  probably  built  by  Solomon, 
though  the  Arabian  legends  give  it  a  still  earlier  date.  Schultens, 
"Index  Geogr."  Solomon's  attention,  as  a  wise  king  and  enterprising 
trader,  was  more  likely  directed  to  this  oasis  in  the  midst  of  the  Syrian 
deserts  as  a  resting  place  for  his  caravans  than  as  a  place  of  defense 
against  the  attacks  of  the  Syrians  and  Arabians,  as  Winer  imagines 
in  the  third  edition  of  his  "Biblischen  Realworterbuch."  Palniyra 
rose  quickly  from  small  beginnings  to  great  splendor,  and  to  this  day 
travelers  are  astonished  at  the  size  and  beauty  of  its  ruins.  See 
R.  Wood,  "The  Ruins  r>?  rV..:^7T'a."  Carchemish  on  the  Euphrates, 
famous  for  the  battle  Lcaween  Necho  an'?  Nebuchadnezzar,  "Jerem.," 
46,  2 — the  Circesium  of  later  times — is  nameu  "a  the  principal  station 
on  the  road  to  Babylon  by  Palmyra.  Josephus,  Ar*-."  viii,  6,  x,  6. 
Movers,  "Das  Phonizosische  Alterthum,"  ii,  40.  Ritter, 
xi,  p.  690. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  343 

"And  I,"  interrupted  Phanes,  "recognized  just  as  soon  in 
you,  the  longest  and  most  quarrelsome  old  fellow  that  had 
ever  come  across  my  path.  Oh,  how  often  I've  laughed  to 
see  you  scolding  the  children  as  they  ran  after  you  in  the 
street  whenever  you  appeared  behind  your  master  with  the 
medicine  chest.  The  minute  I  saw  you,  too,  I  remembered  a 
joke  which  the  king  once  made  in  his  own  way  as  you  were 
both  passing  by.  'The  old  man/  he  said,  'reminds  me  of  a 
fierce  old  owl  followed  by  a  flight  of  small  teasing  birds,  and 
Nebenchari  looks  as  if  he  had  a  scolding  wife  who  will  some 
day  or  other  reward  him  for  healing  other  people's  eyes  by 
scratching  out  his  own !' " 

"Shameful!"  said  the  old  man,  and  burst  into  a  flood  of 
execrations. 

Nebenchari  had  been  listening  to  his  servant's  tale  in  silence 
and  thought.  He  had  changed  color  from  time  to  time,  and 
on  hearing  that  the  papers  which  had  cost  him  so  many  nights 
of  hard  work  had  been  burned,  his  fists  clinched,  and  he  shiv- 
ered as  if  seized  by  biting  frost. 

Not  one  of  his  movements  escaped  the  Athenian.  He  under- 
stood human  nature;  he  knew  that  a  jest  is  often  much  harder 
to  be^ar  than  a  grave  affront,  and,  therefore,  seized  this  oppor- 
tunity to  repeat  the  inconsiderate  joke  which  Amasis  had,  it  is 
true,  allowed  himself  to  make  in  one  of  his  merry  moods. 
Phanes  had  calculated  rightly,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
that  as  he  uttered  the  last  words  Nebenchari  pressed  his  hands 
on  a  rose  which  lay  on  the  table  before  him  and  crushed  it  to 
pieces.  The  Greek  suppressed  a  smile  of  satisfaction,  and  did 
not  even  raise  his  eyes  from  the  ground,  but  continued  speak- 
ing: "Well,  now,  we  must  bring  the  traveling  adventures  of 
good  old  Hib  to  a  close.  I  invited  him  to  share  my  carriage. 
At  first  he  refused  to  sit  on  the  same  cushion  with  such  a 
godless  foreigner  as  I  am,  gave  in,  however,  at  last,  had  a  good 
opportunity  at  the  last  station  of  showing  the  world  how  many 
clever  processes  of  manipulation  he  had  learned  from  you  and 
your  father,  in  his  treatment  of  Oropastes'  wounded  brother; 
he  reached  Babylon  at  last  safe  and  sound,  and  there,  as  we 
could  not  get  sight  of  you,  owing  to  the  melancholy  poisoning 
of  your  countrywoman,  I  succeeded  to  obtaining  him  a  lodging 
in  the  royal  palace  itself.  The  rest  you  know  already." 

Nebenchari  bowed  assent  and  gave  Hib  a  sign  to  leave  the 


344  AN  EGYPTJAN  PRINCESS. 

room,  which  the  old  man  obeyed,  grumbling  and  scolding  in 
a  low  tone  as  he  departed.  When  the  door  had  closed  on  him, 
Nebenchari,  the  man  whose  calling  was  to  heal,  drew  nearer 
to  the  soldier  Phanes,  and  said:  "I  am  afraid  we  cannot  be 
allies  after  all,  Greek." 

''Why  not?" 

"Because  I  fear  that  your  revenge  will  prove  far  too  mild 
when  compared  with  that  which  I  feel  bound  to  inflict." 

"On  that  head  there  is  no  need  for  solicitude,"  answered  the 
Athenian.  "May  I  call  you  my  ally  then?'' 

"Yes,"  answered  the  other,  "but  only  on  one  condition." 

"And  that  is ?" 

"That  you  will  procure  me  an  opportunity  of  seeing  our  ven- 
geance with  my  own  eyes." 

"That  is  as  much  as  to  say  you  are  willing  to  accompany 
Cambyses'  army  to  Egypt?" 

"Certainly  I  am;  and  when  I  see  my  enemies  pining  in  dis- 
grace and  misery  I  will  cry  unto  them:  'Ah,  ha,  ye  cowards, 
the  poor,  despised  and  exiled  physician,  Nebenchari,  has 
brought  this  wretchedness  upon  you!'  Oh,  my  books,  my 
books !  They  made  up  to  me  for  my  lost  wife  and  child.  Hun- 
dreds were  to  have  learned  from  them  how  to  deliver  the  blind 
from  the  dark  night  in  which  he  lives,  and  to  preserve  to  the 
seeing  the  sweetest  gift  of  the  gods,  the  greatest  beauty  of  the 
human  countenance,  the  receptacle  of  light,  the  seeing  eye. 
Now  that  my  books  are  burned  I  have  lived  in  vain;  the 
wretches  have  burned  me  in  burning  my  books.  Oh,  my 
books,  my  books!"  And  he  sobbed  aloud  in  his  agony. 
Phanes  came  up  and  took  his  hand,  saying:  "The  Egyptians 
have  struck  you,  my  friend,  but  me  they  have  maltreated  and 
abused — thieves  have  broken  into  your  granaries,  but  my 
hearth  and  home  have  been  burned  to  ashes  by  incendiaries. 
Do  you  know,  man,  what  I  have  had  to  suffer  at  fheir  hands? 
In  persecuting  me,  and  driving  me  out  of  Egypt,  they  only 
did  what  they  had  a  right  to  do;  by  their  law  I  was  a  cpn- 
demned  man;  and  I  could  have  forgiven  all  they  did  to  me 
personally,  for  I  loved  Amasis  as  a  man  loves  his  friend.  The 
wretch  knew  that,  and  yet  he  suffered  them  to  commit  a  mon- 
strous, an  incredible  act — an  act  that  a  man's  brain  refuses  to 
take  in.  They  stole  like  wolves  at  night  into  a  helpless 
woman's  house — they  seized  my  children,  a  girl  and  boy,  the 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  345 

pride,  the  joy,  and  comfort  of  my  homeless,  wandering  life. 
And,  how  think  you,  did  they  treat  them?  The  girl  they  kept 
in  confinement,  on  the  pretext  that  by  so  doing  they  should 
prevent  me  from  betraying  Egypt  to  Cambyses.  But  the  boy 
— my  beautiful,  gentle  boy — my  only  son — has  been  murdered 
by  Psamtik's  orders,  and  possibly  with  the  knowledge  of 
Amasis.  My  heart  was  withered  and  shrunk  with  exile  and 
sorrow,  but  I  feel  that  it  expands — it  beats  more  joyfully  now 
that  there  is  hope  of  vengeance." 

Nebenchari's  sullen  but  burning  glance  met  the  flashing  eye 
of  the  Athenian  as  he  finished  his  tale;  he  gave  him  his  hand 
and  said:  "We  are  allies."  , 

The  Greek  clasped  the  offered  hand  and  answered:  "Our 
first  point  now  is  to  make  sure  of  the  king's  favor." 

"I  will  restore  Kassandane's  sight." 

"Is  that  in  your  power?" 

"The  operation  which  removed  Amasis'  blindness  was  my 
own  discovery.  Petammon  stole  it  from  my  burned  papers." 

"Why  did  not  you  exert  your  skill  earlier?" 

"Because  I  am  not  accustomed  to  bestow  presents  on  my 
enemies." 

Pha'nes  shuddered  slightly  at  these  words,  recovered  himself, 
however,  in  a  moment,  and  said:  ."And  I  am  certain  of  the 
king's  favor,  too.  The  Massagetan  envoys  have  gone  home 
to-da>  ;  peace  has  been  granted  them  and " 

While  he  was  speaking  the  door  was  burst  open  and  one  of 
Kassandane's  eunuch's  rushed  into  the  room,  crying:  "The 
princess  Nitetis  is  dying!  Follow  me  at  once,  there  is  not  a 
moment  to  lose." 

The  physician  made  a  parting  sign  to  his  confederate,  and 
followed  the  eunuch  to  the  bed  of  the  dying  royal  bride. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

The  sun  was  already  trying  to  break  a  path  for  his  rays 
through  the  thick  curtains  that  closed  the  window  of  the  sick- 
room, but  Nebenchari  had  not  moved  from  the  Egyptian  girl's 
bedside.  Sometimes  he  felt  her  pulse  or  spread  sweet-scented 
ointments  on  her  forehead  or  chest,  and  then  he  would  sit 


346  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

gazing  dreamily  into  vacancy.  Nitetis  seemed  to  have  sunk 
into  a  deep  sleep  after  an  attack  of  convulsions.  At  the  foot  of 
her  bed  stood  six  Persian  doctors,  murmuring  incantations 
under  the  orders  of  Nebenchari,  whose  superior  science  they 
acknowledged,  and  who  was  seated  at  the  bed's  head. 

Each  time  he  felt  the  sick  girl's  pulse  he  shrugged  his  shoul- 
ders, and  the  gesture  was  immediately  imitated  by  his  Persian 
colleagues.  From  time  to  time  the  curtain  was  lifted  and  a 
lovely  head  appeared,  whose  questioning  blue  eyes  fixed  at 
once  on  the  physician,  but  were  always  dismissed  with  the  same 
melancholy  shrug.  It  was  Atossa.  Twice  she  had  ventured 
ijoto  the  room,  stepping  so  lightly  as  hardly  to  touch  the  thick 
carpet  of  Milesian  wool,  had  stolen  to  her  friend's  bedside  and 
lightly  kissed  her  forehead  on  which  the  pearly  dew  of  death 
was  standing,  but  each  time  a  severe  and  reproving  glance 
from  Nebenchari  had  sent  her  back  again  into  the  next  room, 
where  her  mother,  Kassandane,  was  lying  awaiting  the  end. 

Cambyses  had  left  the  sick-room  at  sunrise,  on  seeing  that 
Nitetis  had  fallen  asleep;  he  flung  himself  onto  his  horse,  and, 
accompanied  by  Phanes,  Prexaspes,  Otanes,  Darius,  and  a 
number  of  courtiers,  only  just  aroused  from  their  sleep,  took  a 
wild  ride  through  the  game-park.  He  knew  by  experience  that 
he  could  best  overcome  or  forget  any  violent  mental  emotion 
when  mounted  on  an  unmanageable  horse. 

Nebenchari  started  on  hearing  the  sound  of  the  horses'  hoofs 
in  the  distance.  In  a  waking  dream  he  had  seen  Cambyses 
enter  his  native  land  at  the  head  of  immense  hosts;  he  had  seen 
its  cities  and  temples  on  fire,  and  its  gigantic  pyramids  crum- 
bling to  pieces  under  the  powerful  blows  of  his  mighty  hand. 
Women  and  children  lay  in  the  smoldering  ruins,  and  plaintive 
cries  arose  from  the  tombs  in  which  the  very  mummies  moved 
like  living  beings;  and  all  these — priests,  warriors,  women  and 
children — the  living  and  the  dead — all  had  uttered  his — Ne- 
benchari's — name,  and  had  cursed  him  as  a  traitor  to  his  coun- 
try. A  cold  shiver  struck  to  his  heart;  it  beat  more  convul- 
sively than  the  blood  in  the  veins  of  the  dying  girl  at  his  side. 
Again  the  curtain  was  raised;  Atossa  stole  in  once  more  and 
laid  her  hand  on  his  shoulder.  He  started  and  awoke.  Neben- 
chari had  been  sitting  three  days  and  nights  with  scarcely  any 
intermission  by  this  sick-bed,  and  such  dreams  were  the  natural 
consequence. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  347 

Atossa  slipped  back  to  her  mother.  Not  a  sound  broke  the 
sultry  air  of  the  sick-room,  and  Nebenchari's  thoughts  reverted 
to  his  dream.  He  told  himself  that  he  was  on  the  point  of  be- 
coming a  traitor  and  a  criminal,  the  visions  he  had  just  beheld 
passed  before  him  again,  but  this  time  it  was  another,  and  a 
different  one  which  gained  the  foremost  place.  The  forms  of 
Amasis — who  laughed  at  and  exiled  him — of  Psamtik  and  the 
priests — who  had  burned  his  works — stood  near  him;  they 
were  heavily  fettered  and  besought  mercy  at  his  hands.  His 
lips  moved,  but  this  was  not  the  place  in  which  to  utter  the 
cruel  words  which  rose  to  them.  And  then  the  stern  man  wiped 
away  a  tear  as  he  remembered  the  long  nights  in  which  he  had 
sat,  with  the  reed  in  his  hand,  by  the  dull  light  of  the  lamp,  care- 
fully painting  every  sign  cf  the  fine  hieratic  character  in  which 
he  committed  his  ideas  and  experience  to  writing.  He  had 
discovered  remedies  for  many  diseases  of  the  eye  spoken  of  in 
the  sacred  books  of  Thoth  as  incurable,  but,  knowing  that  he 
should  be  accused  of  sacrilege  by  his  colleagues  if  he  ventured 
on  a  correction  or  improvement  of  his  sacred  writings,  he  had 
entitled  his  work,  "Additional  writings  on  the  treatment  of  dis- 
eases of  the  eye  by  the  great  Thoth,*  newly  discovered  by  the 
oculist  Nebenchari/'f  He  had  resolved  on  bequeathing  his 
works  to  the  library  at  Thebes,!  that  his  experience  might  be 

*The  discovery  of  nearly  every  science  is  attributed  to  the  ibis- 
headed  god  Thoth,  the  writer  or  clerk  of  heaven,  whom  the  Greeks 
compared  to  their  god  Hermes.  Thoth,  "the  thrice-greatest"  (Trisme- 
gistus)  was  said  to  have  written  six  books  on  the  healing  art,  in  which 
anatomy,  the  doctrine  of  disease  and  the  use  of  medicines  are  said  to 
have  been  treated,  besides  diseases  of  the  eye.  Clem.  Alex.,  "Strom.," 
vi,  260.  See  lamblichus,  "De  Myst.  Aegypt.,"  vi,  4.  Isis  also  was  glor- 
ified as  a  healing  divinity,  and  in  later  times  Serapis.  "Diod.,"  i,  25. 
Tacit.  "Hist.,"  iv,  81. 

fin  the  writings  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  which  have  come  down 
to  us,  we  read  constantly  of  books  and  documents  which  had  been 
found  under  this  or  that  statue  of  a  god.  This  was  certainly  intended 
as  a  proof  of  their  sanctity  and  divine  authorship.  It  is  true  that  in 
some  works  the  name  of  the  author  is  given;  as,  for  instance,  the 
"Legend  of  the  Two  Brothers"  (Papyr.  d'Orbiney)  the  author  of  which 
was  named  Anana.  One  of  the  hermetic  books  was  devoted  entirely  to 
diseases  of  the  eye.  It  was  in  Alexandria,  too,  in  the  third  century 
B.  C.,  that  Herophilus  of  Chalcedon  discovered  and  named  the  retina 
of  the  eye. 

tThe  library  of  Thebes,  which,  according  to  Diodorus,  bore  the  in- 
scription •!/><-'.  tw  laTpdov,  "the  place  of  healing  for  the  soul,"  con- 


348  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

useful  to  his  successors  and  bring  forth  fruit  for  the  whole  body 
of  sufferers.  This  was  to  be  his  reward  for  the  long  nights 
which  he  had  sacrificed  to  science — recognition  after  death,  and 
fame  for  the  caste  to  which  he  belonged.  And  there  stood  his 
old  rival,  Petammon,  by  the  side  of  the  crown  prince  in  the 
grove  of  Neith,  and  stirred  the  consuming  fire,  after  having 
stolen  his  discovery  of  the  operation  of  couching.  Their  mali- 
cious faces  were  ting*ed  by  the  red  glow  of  the  flames,  which 
rose  with  their  spiteful  laughter  toward  heaven  as  if  demanding 
vengeance.  A  little  farther  off  he  saw  in  his  dream  Amasis 
receiving  his  father's  letters  from  the  hands  of  the  high-priest. 
Scornful  and  mocking  words  were  being  uttered  by  the  king; 
Neith otep  looked  exultant.  In  these  visions  Nebenchari  was 
so  lost  that  one  of  the  Persian  doctors  was  obliged  to  point  out 
to  him  that  his  patient  was  awake.  He  nodded  in  reply,  point- 
ing to  his  own  weary  eyes  with  a  smile,  felt  the  sick  girl's  pulse, 
and  asked  her  in  Egyptian  how  she  had  slept. 

"I  do  not  know,"  she  answered,  in  a  voice  that  was  hardly 
audible.  "It  seemed  to  me  that  I  was  asleep,  and  yet  I  saw 
and  heard  everything  that  happened  in  the  room.  I  felt  so 
weak  that  I  hardly  knew  whether  I  was  awake  or  asleep.  Has 
not  Atossa  been  here  several  times?" 

"Yes." 

tained  according  to  lamblichus,  "De  Myst.  Aegypt."  viii,  1,  twenty 
thousand  hermetic  or  sacerdotal  books.  It  was  in  the  Ramesseum, 
which,  according  to  Diodorus  of  Osymandyas,  was  erected  to  Rameses 
Miamun  ("the  beloved  of  Ammon")  of  the  monuments,  in  the  four- 
teenth century  B.  C.  Champollion  discovered  what  must  formerly 
have  been  the  space  occupied  by  the  library  in  the  ruins  of  the  Ra- 
messeum. At  the  entrance  were  representations  of  Thoth,  the  god  of 
wisdom,  and  Safech,  the  goddess  of  history.  Many  of  the  hieratic 
papyri  which  we  possess  are  dated  from  this  library,  and  it  is  often 
mentioned  in  the  Egyptian  books.  Lepsius  even  discovered  at  Thebes 
the  tombs  of  two  of  the  librarians  under  Rameses  Miamun.  Their 
possessors  were  father  and  son,  this  office,  like  most  others,  having 
been  hereditary.  They  were  called  "governors  of  the  books,"  and 
"presidents  of  the  books."  See  Lepsius,  "Chronologic  Einleitung,"  p. 
39.  The  libraries  seem  always  to  have  belonged  to  the  temples.  Thus, 
in  the  ritual  of  the  dead,  17,  47,  48,  we  read  of  the  library  of  Osiris 
Seb;  Galen  speaks  of  a  library  belonging  to  the  temple  of  Ptah  at 
Memphis  where  medical  manuscripts  had  also  been  preserved.  Gal., 
"De  Comp.,  Med.  Sec.  Gen.,"  v,  2,  and  we  know  that  there  was  one  at- 
tached to  the  Serapeum  at  Alexandria.  See  Parthey's  "Monograph 
des  A]exandrinische  Museum." 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  ,349 

"And  Cambyses  stayed  with  Kassandane  until  sunrise,  then 
he  went  out,  mounted  his  horse  Reksch  and  rode  into  the  game 
park." 

"How  do  you  know  that?" 

"I  saw  it." 

Nebenchari  looked  anxiously  into  the  girl's  shining  eyes. 
She  went  on:  "A  great  many  dogs  have  been  brought  into  the 
court  behind  this  house." 

"Probably  the  king  has  ordered  a  hunt  in  order  to  deaden 
the  pain  which  he  feels  at  seeing  you  suffer." 

"Oh,  no.  I  know  better  what  it  means.  Oropastes  taught 
me  that  whenever  a  Persian  dies  dogs*  are  brought  in  that  the 
divs  may  enter  into  them." 

"But  you  are  living,  my  mistress,  and " 

"Oh,  I  know  very  well  that  I  shall  die.  I  knew  that  I  had 
not  many  hours  more  to  live  even  if  I  had  not  seen  how  you 
and  the  other  physicians  shrugged  your  shoulders  whenever 
you  looked  at  me.  That  poison  is  deadly." 

"You  are  speaking  too  much,  my  mistress;  it  will  hurt 
you." 

"Oh,  let  me  speak,  Nebenchari !  I  must  ask  you  to  do  some- 
thing for  me  before  I  die." 

"I  am  your  servant." 

"No,  Nebenchari,  you  must  be  my  friend  and  priest.  You 
are  not  angrv  with  me  for  having  prayed  to  the  Persian  gods? 
Our  own  Hathor  was  always  my  best  friend  still.  Yes,  I  see 
by  your  face  that  you  forgive  me.  Then  you  must  promise  not 
to  allow  my  corpse  to  be  torn  in  pieces  by  dogs  and  vultures.f 
The  thought  is  so  very  dreadful.  You  will  promise  to  embalm 
my  body  and  ornament  it  with  amulets?" 

"If  the  king  allows." 

*As  soon  as  a  Persian  was  dead  the  drukhs  nagus,  or  unclean 
demon  of  death  rushed  to  the  spot  in  the  form  of  a  fly  and  seated  him- 
self on  the  corpse  and  on  one  of  the  living  who  were  present,  bringing 
destruction  and  taint.  "Vendid."  Farg.,"  vii,  2-24.  Even  to  this  day 
the  Parsees  hold  dogs  before  dying  people.  Ritter,  "Erdkunde,"  iv, 
p.  1092.  Possibly  they  do  this  in  the  hopes  that  the  specter  of  death 
may  enter  into  the  animals;  but  the  eyes  of  two  especially  spotted 
dogs  were  said  to  have  the  power  of  scaring  evil  drukhs.  The  latter 
remark  is  from  the  Dutch  translator.  See,  also,  Tiele,  "Godsd.  v. 
Zarath.,"  p.  184. 

fSee  note  p.  60. 


350*  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"Of  course  he  will.  How  could  Cambyses  possibly  refuse  my 
last  request?" 

"Then  my  skill  is  at  your  service." 

"Thank  you;  but  I  have  still  something  else  to  ask." 

"You  must  be  brief.  My  Persian  colleagues  are  already 
making  signs  to  me  to  enjoin  silence  on  you." 

"Can't  you  send  them  away  for  a  moment?" 

"I  will  try  to  do  so." 

Nebenchari  then  went  urJ  and  spoke  to  the  Magi  for  a  few 
minutes  and  they  left  the  room.  An  important  incantation  at 
which  no  one  but  the  two  concerned  might  be  present  and  the 
application  of  a  new  and  secret  antidotal  poison  were  the  pre- 
texts which  he  had  used  in  order  to  get  rid  of  them. 

When  they  were  alone,  Nitetis  drew  a  breath  of  relief,  and 
said:  "Give  me  your  priestly  blessing  on  my  long  journey  into 
the  nether  world  and  prepare  me  for  my  pilgrimage  to  Osiris." 

Nebenchari  knelt  down  by  her  bed  and  in  a  low  voice  re- 
peated hymns,  Nitetis  making  devotional  responses. 

The  physician  represented  Osiris,  the  lord  of  the  nether 
world — Nitetis,  the  soul,  justifying  itself  beforeliim.* 

When  these  ceremonies  were  ended  the  sick  girl  breathed 
more  freely.  Nebenchari  could  not  but  feel  moved  in  looking 
at  this  young  suicide.  He  felt  confident  that  he  had  saved  a 
soul  for  the  gods  of  his  native  land,  had  cheered  the  last  sad 
and  painful  hours  of  one  of  God's  good  creatures.  During 
these  last  moments  compassion  and  benevolence  had  excluded 
every  bitter  feeling;  but  when  he  remembered  that  this  lovely 
creature  owed  all  her  misery  to  Amasis,  too,  the  old  black  cloud 
of  thought  darkened  his  mind  again.  Nitetis,  after  lying  silent 
for  some  time,  turned  to  her  new  friend  with  a  pleasant  smile 
and  said:  "I  shall  find  mercy  with  the  judges  of  the  dead,  now, 
shall  not  I?" 

"I  hope  and  believe  so." 

"Perhaps  I  may  find  Tachot  before  the  throne  of  Osiris,  and 
my  father — 

"Your  father  and  mother  are  waiting  for  you  there.  Now 
in  your  last  hour  bless  those  who  begot  you,  and  curse  those 
who  have  robbed  you  of  vour  parents,  your  crown  and  your 
life." 

*See  note  p.  189. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  351 

"I  do  not  understand  you." 

"Curse  those  who  robbed  you  of  your  parents,  crown  and 
life,  girl!"  cried  the  physician  again,  rising  to  his  full  height, 
breathing  hard  as  he  said  the  words  and  gazing  down  on  the 
dying  girl.  "Curse  those  wretches,  girl!  that  curse  will  do  more 
in  gaining  mercy  from  the  judges  of  the  dead  than  thousands 
of  good  works!"  And  as  he  said  this  he  seized  her  hand  and 
pressed"  it  violently. 

Nitetis  looked  up  uneasily  into  his  indignant  face  and  stam- 
mered, in  blind  obedience,  "I  curse." 

"Those  who  robbed  my  parents  of  their  throne  and  their 
lives!" 

"Those  who  robbed  my  parents  of  their  throne  and  their 
lives,"  she  repeated  after  him,  and  then,  crying,  "Oh,  my 
heart!"  sank  back  exhausted  on  the  bed. 

Nebenchari  bent  down  and  before  the  royal  physicians  could 
return  kissed  her  forehead  gently,  murmuring,  "She  dies  my 
confederate.  The  gods  hearken  to  the  prayers  of  those  who 
die  innocent.  By  carrying  the  sword  into  Egypt  I  shall  avenge 
king  Hophra's  wrongs  as  well  as  my  own." 

When  Nitetis  opened  her  eyes  once  more,  a  few  hours  later, 
Kassandane  was  holding  her  right  hand,  Atossa  kneeling  at 
her  feet,  and  Croesus  standing  at  the  head  of  her  bed,  trying, 
with  the  failing  strength  of  old  age,  to  support  the  gigantic 
frame  of  the  king,  who  was  so  completely  overpowered  by  his 
grief  that  he  staggered  like  a  drunken  man.  The  dying  girl's 
eyes  lighted  up  as  she  looked  round  the  circle.  She  \vas  won- 
derfully beautiful.  Cambyses  came  closer  and  kissed  her  lips ; 
they  were  growing  cold  in  death.  It  was  the  first  kiss  he  had 
ever  given  her — and  the  last.  Two  large  tears  sprang  to  her 
eyes;  their  light  was  fast  growing  dim;  she  murmured  Cam- 
byses' name  softly,  fell  back  in  Atossa's  arms  and  died. 


We  shall  not  give  a  detailed  account  of  the  next  few  hours; 
it  would  be  an  unpleasant  task  to  describe  how,  at  a  signal 
from  the  principal  Persian  doctor,  everyone,  except  Neben- 
chari and  Croesus,  hastily  left  the  room — how  dogs  were 


352  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

brought  in  and  their  sagacious  heads  turned  toward  the  corpse 
in  order  to  scare  the  demon  of  death* — how,  directly  after 
Nitetis'  death,  Kassandane,  Atossa  and  their  entire  retinue 
moved  into  another  house  in  order  to  avoid  defilement — how 
fire  was  extinguished  throughout  the  dwelling,  that  the  pure 
element  might  be  removed  from  the  polluting  spirits  of  death  ;f 
how  spells  and  exorcisms  were  muttered,!  and  how  every 
person  and  thing,  which  had  approached  or  been  brought  into 
contact  with  the  dead  body,  was  subject  to  numerous  purifica- 
tions with  water  and  pungent  fluids. 

The  same  evening  Cambyses  was  seized  by  one  of  his  old 
epileptic  attacks.  Two  days  later  he  gave  Nebenchari  permis- 
sion to  embalm  Nitetis'  body  in  the  Egyptian  manner,  accord- 
ing to  her  last  wish.  The  king  gave  way  to  the  most  immoder- 
ate grief;  he  tore  the  flesh  of  his  arms,  rent  his  clothes  and 
strewed  ashes  on  his  head  and  on  his  couch.  All  the  magnates 
of  his  court  were  obliged  to  follow  his  example.  The  troops 
mounted  guard  with  rent  banners  and  muffled  drums.  The 
cymbals  and  kettle-drums  of  the  "immortals"  were  bound 
round  with  crape.  The  horses  which  Nitetis  had  used,  as  well 
as  all  which  were  then  in  use  by  the  court,  were  colored  blue 
and  deprived  of  their  tails;  the  entire  court  appeared  in  mourn- 
ing robes  of  dark  brown,  rent  to  the  girdle,§  and  the  Magi  were 
compelled  to  prav  three  days  and  nights  unceasingly  for  the 
soul  of  the  dead,|[  which  was  supposed  to  be  awaiting  its  sen- 
tence for  eternity  at  the  bridge  Chinvatfl  on  the  third  night. 

Neither  the  king,  Kassandane,  nor  Atossa  shrank  from  sub- 
mitting to  the  necessary  purifications;  they  repeated,  as  if  for 
one  of  their  nearest  relations,  thirty  prayers  for  the  dead,  while, 
in  a  house  outside  the  city  gates,  Nebenchari  began  to  embalm 


*See  note  p.  52. 

fin  winter  fire  might  be  brought  back  to  the  deceased's  dwelling 
nine  days  after  the  death,  in  summer  not  until  a  month  had  passed. 
"Vendid.  Farg.,"  v,  130. 

JThe  entire  tenth  Fargard  of  the  Vendidad  is  devoted  to  these  spells. 

§See  note  p.  29. 

||The  number  of  prayers  to  be  said  according  to  the  degrees  of  re- 
lationship with  the  deceased  are  to  be  found  in  "Vendidad  Fare.," 
xii,  1. 

flSee  note  p.  271. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  852 

her  body  in  the  most  costly  manner,  and  according  to  the  strict- 
est rules  of  his  art.* 

For  nine  days  Cambyses  remained  in  a  condition  which 
seemed  little  short  of  insanity.  At  times  furious,  at  others  dull 
and  stupefied,  he  did  not  even  allow  his  relations  or  the  high- 
priest  to  approach  him.  On  the  morning  of  the  tenth  day  he 
sent  for  the  chief  of  the  seven  judges  and  commanded  that  as 
lenient  a  sentence  as  possible  should  be  pronounced  on  Gau- 
mata.  Nitetis,  on  her  dying-bed,  had  begged  him  to  spare  the 
life  of  this  unhappy  youth. 

One  hour  later  the  sentence  was  submitted  to  the  king  for 
ratification.  It  ran  thus:  "Victory  to  the  king!  Inasmuch  as 
Cambyses,  the  eye  of  the  world  and  the  son  of  righteousness, 
hath,  in  his  great  mercy,  which  is  as  broad  as  the  heavens  and 
as  inexhaustible  as  the  great  deep,  commanded  us  to  punish  the 
crime  of  the  son  of  the  Magi,  Gaumata,  with  the  indulgence  of 
a  mother  instead  of  with  the  severity  of  a  judge,  we,  the  seven 
judges  of  the  realm,  have  determined  to  grant  his  forfeited  life. 
Inasmuch,  however,  as  by  the  folly  of  this  youth  the  lives  of  the 
noblest  and  the  best  in  this  realm  have  been  imperiled,  and  it 
may  reasonably  be  apprehended  that  he  may  again  abuse  the 
marvelous  likeness  to  Bartja,  the  noble  son  of  Cyrus,  in  which 

*Embalming  was  practiced  in  three  different  ways.  The  first  cost  a 
talent  of  silver  (two  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds  sterling);  the 
second  twenty  minae  (sixty  pounds  sterling),  and  the  third  was  very 
inexpensive.  "Herod.,"  ii,  86-88.  "Diod.,"  i,  91.  The  brain  was  first 
drawn  out  through  the  nose  and  the  skull  filled  with  spices.  The  in- 
testines were  then  taken  out  and  the  body  filled  in  like  manner  with 
aromatic  spices.  When  all  was  finished  the  corpse  was  left  seventy 
days  in  a  solution  of  soda,  and  then  wrapped  in  bandages  of  byssus 
spread  over  with  gum.  The  microscopical  examinations  of  mummy- 
bandages  made  by  Dr.  Ure  and  Prof.  Czermak  have  proved  that 
byssus  is  linen,  not  cotton.  The  manner  of  embalming  just  described 
is  the  most  expensive,  and  the  latest  chemical  researches  prove  that 
the  description  given  of  it  by  the  Greeks  was  tolerably  correct.  L. 
Penicher  maintains  that  the  bodies  were  first  somewhat  dried  in 
ovens  and  that  then  resin  of  the  cedar-tree,  or  asphalt,  was  poured  into 
every  opening.  "Traite  sur  les  Embaumements  Selon  les  Anciens 
et  les  Modernes,"  Paris,  1699.  According  to  Herodotus,  female  corpses 
were  embalmed  by  women.  "Herod.,"  ii,  69.  The  subject  is  treated  in 
great  detail  by  Pettigrew,  "History  of  Egyptian  Mummies,"  London, 
1834.  Czermak's  microscopical  examinations  of  Egyptian  mummies 
show  how  marvelously  the  smallest  portions  of  the  body  were  pre- 
served, and  confirm  the  statements  of  Herodotus  on  many  points. 


354  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

the  gods  have  been  pleased  in  their  mercy  to  fashion  his  form 
and  face  and  thereby  bring  prejudice  upon  the  pure  and 
righteous,  we  have  determined  to  disfigure  him  in  such  wise 
that  in  the  time  to  come  it  will  be  a  light  matter  to  discern 
between  these  two,  the  most  worthless  subject  of  the  realm,  and 
him  who  is  most  worthy.  We,  therefore,  by  the  royal  will  and 
command,  pronounce  sentence  that  both  the  ears  of  Gaumata 
be  cut  off,  for  the  honor  of  the  righteous  and  shame  of  the 
impure." 

Cambyses  confirmed  this  sentence  at  once  and  it  was  exe- 
cuted the  same  day. 

Oropastes  did  not  dare  to  intercede  for  his  brother,  though 
this  ignominious  punishment  mortified  his  ambitious  mind 
more  than  even  a  sentence  of  death  could  have  done.  As  he 
was  afraid  that  his  own  influence  and  consideration  might 
suffer  through  this  mutilated  brother,  he  ordered  him  to  leave 
Babylon  at  once  for  a  country-house  of  his  own  on  Mount 
Arakadris.* 

During  the  few  days  which  had  just  passed,  a  shabbily- 
dressed  and  closely  veiled  woman  had  watched  day  and  night 
at  the  great  gate  of  the  palace;  neither  the  threats  of  the 
sentries  nor  the  coarse  jests  of  the  palace  servants  could  drive 
her  from  her  post.  She  never  allowed  one  of  the  less  important 
officials  to  pass  without  eagerly  questioning  him,  first  as  to  the 
state  of  the  Egyptian  princess,  and  then  what  had  become  of 
Gaumata.  When  his  sentence  was  told  her,  as  a  good  joke,  by 
a  chattering  lamplighter,  she  went  off  into  the  strangest  excite- 
ment, and  astonished  the  poor  man  so  much  by  kissing  his  robe 
that  he  thought  she  must  be  crazed  and  gave  her  an  alms. 
She  refused  the  money,  but  remained  at  her  post,  subsisting  on 
the  bread  which  was  given  to  her  by  the  compassionate  dis- 
tributors of  food.  Three  days  later  Gaumata  himself,  with  his 
head  bound  up,  was  driven  out  in  a  closed  Harmamaxa.  She 
rushed  to  the  carriage  and  ran  screaming  by  the  side  of  it 

"This  mountain  is  mentioned  in  the  inscription  of  "Behistan,"  i, 
sec.  ix.  With  reference  to  Gaumata's  punishment,  the  same  which 
Herodotus  says  was  inflicted  on  the  pretended  Smerdis,  we  would 
observe  that  even  Persians  of  high  rank  were  sometimes  deprived  of 
their  ears.  In  the  Behistan  inscription  ("Spiegel,"  pp.  15  and  21) 
the  ears,  tongue,  and  nose  of  the  man  highest  in  rank  among  the 
rebels,  Fravartis  (Phraortes),  were  cut  off.  Similar  punishments  are 
quoted  by  Brisson.  "De  regn  Persar,"  ii,  pp.  334-5. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  355 

until  the  driver  stopped  his  mules  and  asked  what  she  wanted. 
She  threw  back  her  veil  and  showed  the  poor,  suffering  youth 
her  pretty  face,  covered  with  deep  blushes.  Gaumata  uttered 
a  low  cry  as  he  recognized  her,  collected  himself,  however, 
in  a  moment,  and  said:  "What  do  you  want  with  me,  Man- 
dane?" 

The  wretched  girl  raised  her  hands  beseechingly  to  him, 
crying:  "Oh,  do  not  leave  me,  Gaumata!  Take  me  with  you ! 
I  forgive  you  all  the  misery  you  have  brought  on  me  and  my 
poor  mistress.  1  love  you  so  much ;  I  will  take  care  of  you  and 
nurse  you  as  if  I  were  the  lowest  servant-girl." 

A  short  struggle  passed  in  Gaumata's  mind.  He  was  just 
going  to  open  the  carriage-door  and  clasp  Mandane — his  earli- 
est love — in  his  arms,  when  the  sound  of  horses'  hoofs  coming 
nearer,  struck  on  his  ear,  and,  looking  round,  he  saw  a  carriage 
full  of. Magi,  among  whom  were  several  who  had  been  his 
companions  at  the  school  for  priests.  He  felt  ashamed  and 
afraid  of  being  seen  by  the  very  youths  whom  he  had  often 
treated  proudly  and  haughtily  because  he  was  the  brother  of 
the  high-priest,  threw  Mandane  a  purse  of  gold,  which  his 
brother  had  given  him  at  parting,  and  ordered  the  driver  to  go 
on  as  fast  as  possible.  The  mules  galloped  off.  Mandane 
kicked  the  purse  away,  rushed  after  the  carriage  and  clung  to  it 
firmly.  One  of  the  wheels  caught  her  dress  and  dragged  her 
down.  With  the  strength  of  despair  she  sprang  up,  ran  after 
the  mules,  overtook  them  on  a  slight  ascent,  which  had  less- 
ened their  speed,  and  seized  the  reins.  The  driver  used  his 
three-lashed  whip,  or  scourge,  the  creatures  reared,  pulled  the 
girl  down,  and  rushed  on.  Her  last  cry  of  agony  pierced  the 
wounds  of  the  mutilated  man  like  a  sharp  lance-thrust. 


On  the  twelfth  day  after  Nitetis'  death  Cambyses  went  out 
hunting,  in  the  hope  that  the  danger  and  excitement  of  the 
sport  might  divert  his  mind.  The  magnates  and  men  of  high 
rank  at  his  court  received  him  with  thunders  of  applause,  for 
which  he  returned  cordial  thanks.  These  few  days  of  grief 
had  worked  a  great  change  in  a  man  so  unaccustomed  to  suffer- 


356  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

ing  as  Cambysi-s.  His  face  was  pale,  his  raven-black  hair 
and  beard  had  grown  gray,  and  the  consciousness  of  victory 
which  usually  shone  in  his  eye  was  dimmed.  Had  he  not, 
only  too  painfully,  experienced  that  there  was  a  stronger  will 
than  his  own,  and  that,  easily  as  he  could  destroy,  it  did  not  lie 
in  his  power  to  preserve  the  life  of  the  meanest  creature?  Be- 
fore starting  Cambyses  mustered  his  troop  of  sportsmen,  and, 
calling  Gobryas,  asked  why  Phanes  was  not  there. 

"My  king  did  not  order " 

"He  is  my  guest  and  companion,  once  for  all ;  call  him  and 
follow  us." 

Gobryas  bowed,  dashed  back  to  the  palace,  and  in  half  an 
hour  reappeared  among  the  royal  retinue  with  Phanes. 

The  Athenian  was  warmly  welcomed  by  many  of  the  group, 
a  fact  which  seems  strange,  when  we  remember  that  courtiers 
are  of  all  men  the  most  prone  to  envy,  and  a  royal  favorite 
always  the  most  likely  object  to  excite  their  ill-will.  But 
Phanes  seemed  a  rare  exception  to  this  rule.  He  had  met  the 
Achaemenidae  in  so  frank  and  winning  a  manner,  had  excited 
so  many  hopes  by  the  hints  he  had  thrown  out  of  an  expected 
and  important  war,  and  aroused  so  much  merriment  by  well- 
told  jests,  such  as  the  Persians  had  never  heard  before,  that 
there  were  very  few  who  did  not  welcome  his  appearance 
gladly;  and  when — in  company  with  the  king — he  separated 
from  the  rest  in  chase  of  a  wild  ass,  they  openly  confessed  to 
one  another  that  they  had  never  before  seen  so  perfect  a  man. 
The  clever  way  in  which  he  had  brought  the  innocence  of  the 
accused  to  light,  the  finesse  which  he  had  shown  in  securing 
the  king's  favor,  and  the  ease  with  which  he  had  learned  the 
Persian  language  in  so  short  a  time,  were  all  subjects  of 
admiration.  Neither  was  there  one  even  of  the  Achaemenidae 
themselves  who  exceeded  him  in  beauty  of  face  or  symmetry 
of  figure.  In  the  chase  he  proved  himself  a  perfect  horseman, 
and  in  a  conflict  with  a  bear  an  exceptionally  courageous  and 
skillful  sportsman.  On  the  way  home,  as  the  courtiers  Were 
extolling  all  the  wonderful  qualities  possessed  by  the  king's 
favorite,  old  Araspes  exclaimed:  "I  quite  agree  with  you  that 
this  Greek,  who,  by  the  way,  has  proved  himself  a  better  soldier 
than  anything  else,  is  no  common  man,  but  I  am  sure  you 
would  not  praise  him  half  as  much  if  he  were  not  a  foreigner 
and  a  novelty." 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  357 

Phanes  happened  to  be  only  separated  from  the  speaker  by 
some  thick  bushes,  and  heard  these  words.  When  the  other 
had  finished  he  went  up  and  said,  smiling:  "I  understood  what 
you  said  and  feel  obliged  to  you  for  your  kind  opinion.  The 
last  sentence,  however,  gave  me  even  more  pleasure  than  the 
first,  because  it  confirmed  my  own  idea  that  the  Persians  are  the 
most  generous  people  in  the  world — they  praise  the  virtues  of 
other  nations  as  much,  or  even  more,  than  theii  own." 

His  hearers  smiled,  well  pleased  at  this  flattering  remark, 
and  Phanes  went  on:  "How  different  the  Jews  are  now,  for 
instance !  They  fancy  themselves  the  exclusive  favorites  of  the 
gods,  and  by  so  doing  incur  the  contempt  of  all  wise  men  and 
the  hatred  of  the  whole  world.  And,  then,  the  Egyptians!  You 
have  no  idea  of  the  perversity  of  that  people.  Why,  if  the 
priests  could  have  their  way  entirely  (and  they  have  a  great  deal 
of  power  in  their  hands)  not  a  foreigner  would  be  left  alive  in 
Egypt  nor  a  single  stranger  allowed  to  enter  the  country.  A 
true  Egyptian  would  rather  starve  than  eat  out  of  the  same 
dish  with  one  of  us.  There  are  more  strange,  astonishing  and 
wonderful  things  to  be  seen  in  that  country  than  anywhere 
else  in  the  world.  And  yet,  to  do  it  justice,  1  must  say  that 
Egypt  has  been  well  spoken  of  as  the  richest  and  most  highly 
cultivated  land  under  the  sun.  The  man  who  possesses  that 
kingdom  need  not  envy  the  very  gods  themselves.  It  would 
be  mere  child's  play  to  conquer  that  beautiful  country.  Ten 
years  there  gave  me  a  perfect  insight  into  the  condition  of 
things,  and  I  know  that  their  entire  military  caste  would  not  be 
sufficient  to  resist  one  such  troop  as  your  immortals.  Well, 
who  knows  \vhat  the  future  may  bring?  Perhaps  we  may  all 
make  a  little  trip  to  the  Nile  some  day.  In  my  opinion,  your 
good  swords  have  been  rather  long  idle." 

These  well-calculated  words  were  received  with  such  shouts 
of  applause  that  the  king  turned  his  horse  to  inquire  the  cause. 
Phanes  answered  quickly  that  the  Achaemenidae  were  rejoic- 
ing in  the  thought  that  a  war  might  possibly  be  near  at  hand. 

"What  war?"  asked  the  king,  with  the  first  smile  that  had 
been  seen  on  his  face  for  many  days. 

"We  were  only  speaking  in  general  of  the  possibility  of  such 
a  thing,"  answered  Phanes,  carelessly;  then,  riding  up  to  the 
king's  side,  his  voice  took  an  imnressive  tone  full  of  feeling,  and 
looking  earnestly  into  his  face,  he  began:  "It  is  true,  my  sov- 


358  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

ereign,  that  I  was  not  born  in  this  beautiful  country  as  one 
of  your  subjects,  nor  can  I  boast  of  a  long  acquaintance  with 
the  most  powerful  of  monarchs,  but  yet  I  cannot  resist  the 
presumptuous,  perhaps  criminal,  thought  that  the  gods  at  my 
birth  appointed  me  to  be  your  real  friend.  It  is  not  your  rich 
gifts  that  have  drawn  me  to  you.  I  did  not  need  them,  for  I 
belong  to  the  wealthier  class  of  my  countrymen,  and  I  have  no 
son — no  heir — to  whom  I  can  bequeath  my  treasures.  Once  I 
had  a  boy — a  beautiful,  gentle  child — but  I  was  not  going  to 
speak  of  that — I — are  you  offended  at  my  freedom  of  speech, 
my  sovereign?" 

"What  is  there  to  offend  me?"  answered  the  king,  who  had 
never  been  spoken  to  in  this  manner  before,  and  felt  strongly 
attracted  to  the  original  foreigner. 

"Till  to-day  I  felt  that  your  grief  was  too  sacred  to  be  dis- 
turbed, but  now  the  time  has  come  to  rouse  you  from  it  and  to 
make  your  heart  glow  once  more.  You  will  have  to  hear 
what  must  be  very  painful  to  you." 

"There"  is  nothing  more  now  that  can  grieve  me." 

"What  I  am  going  to  tell  you  will  not  give  yon  pain ;  on  the 
contrary,  it  will  arouse  your  anger." 

"You  make  me  curious." 

"You  have  been  shamefully  deceived — you  and  that  lovely 
creature  who  died  such  an  early  death  a  few  days  ago." 

Cambyses'  eyes  flashed  a  demand  for  further  information. 

"Amasis,  the  king  of  Egypt,  has  dared  to  make  sport  of  you, 
the  lord  of  the  world.  That  gentle  girl  was  not  his  daughter, 
though  she  herself  believed  that  she  was;  she 

"Impossible!" 

"It  would  seem  so,  and  yet  I  am  speaking  the  simple  truth. 
Amasis  spun  a  web  of  lies,  in  which  he  managed  to  entrap,  not 
only  the  whole  world,  but  you,  too,  my  sovereign.  Nitetis,  the 
most  lovely  creature  ever  born  of  woman,  was  the  daughter  of 
a  king,  but  not  of  the  usurper  Amasis.  Hophra,  the  rightful 
king  of  Egypt,  was  the  father  of  this  pearl  among  women.  You 
may  well  frown,  my  sovereign.  It  is  a  cruel  thing  to  be  be- 
trayed by  one's  friends  and  allies." 

Cambyses  spurred  his  horse,  and,  after  a  silence  of  some 
moments,  kept  by  Phanes  purposely,  that  his  words  might 
make  a  deeper  impression,  cried:  "Tell  me  more!  I  wish  to 
know  everything." 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  359 

''liophra  had  been  living  twenty  years*  in  easy  captivity 
in  Sais  after  his  dethronement,  when  his  wife,  who  had  borne 
him  three  children  and  buried  them  all,  felt  that  she  was  about 
to  give  birth  to  a  fourth.  Hophra,  in  his  joy,  determined  to 
offer  a  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving  in  the  temple  of  Pacht,f  the 
Egyptian  goddess  supposed  to  confer  the  blessing  of 
children;  when,  on  his  way  thither,  a  former  magnate  of  the 
court,  named  Patarbemis,$  whom,  in  a  fit  of  unjust  anger,  he 
had  ignominiously  mutilated,  fell  upon  him  with  a  troop  of 
slaves  and  massacred  him.  Amasis  had  the  unhappy  widow 
brought  to  his  palace  at  once,  and  assigned  her  an  apartment 
next  to  the  one  occupied  by  his  own  queen,  Ladice,  who  was 
also  expecting  soon  to  give  birth  to  a  child.  A  girl  was  born 
to  Hophra's  widow,  but  the  mother  died  in  the  same  hour,  and 
two  days  later  Ladice  bore  a  child  also.  But  I  see  we  are  in 
the  court  of  the  palace.  If  you  will  allow,  I  will  have  the  report 
of  the  physician  by  whom  this  imposture  was  effected  read  be- 
fore you.  Several  of  his  notes  have,  by  a  remarkable  coinci- 
dence of  circumstances,  which  I  will  explain  to  you  later,  fallen 
into  my  hands.  A  former  high-priest  of  Heliopolis,  Onuphis,  is 
now  living  in  Babylon,  and  understands  all  the  different  styles 
of  writing  in  use  among  his  countrymen. §  Nebenchari  will, 
of  course,  refuse  to  help  in  disclosing  an  imposture  which  must 
inevitably  lead  to  the  ruin  of  his  country." 

"In  an  hour  I  expect  to  see  you  here  with  the1  man  you  have 
just  spoken  of.  Croesus,  Nebenchari,  and  all  the  Achaemenidae 
who  were  in  Egypt  will  have  to  appear  also.  I  must  have  cer- 
tainty before  I  can  act,  and  your  testimony  alone  is  not  suffi- 

*According  to  "Herodotus,"  ii,  169,  Amasis  treated  his  dethroned 
predecessor  with  great  lenity,  and  spared  his  life  until  the  Egyptians 
fell  upon  him  and  hung  him.  On  account  of  Nitetis'  age  we  are 
obliged  to  allow  Hophra  twenty  years  of  life  after  his  dethronement. 
It  is  the  only  way  in  which  we  can  rescue  Herodotus'  narrative, 
which  forms  the  basis  of  our  tale.  Amasis  would  scarcely  have  dared 
to  send  Cambyses  a  bride  of  forty;  for  it  must  be  remembered  that 
on  the  Nile  a  woman  of  forty  is  older  than  one  of  sixty  in  Europe. 
This  subject  has  already  been  mentioned  in  our  preface. 

tSee  note  pp.  28-29. 

$"Herod.,"  ii,  162. 

§The  three  Egyptian  styles  of  writing  existed  already  at  the  time 
of  Amasis,  though  the  demotic  or  popular  style  used  for  correspond- 
ence does  not  seem  much  older  than  the  dynasty  to  which  he  be- 
longed (the  twenty-sixth). 


360  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

cient,  because  I  know  from  Amasis  that  you  have  cause  to  feel 
a  grudge  against  his  house." 

At  the  time  appointed  all  were  assembled  before  the  king 
in  obedience  to  his  command. 

Onuphis,  the  former  high-priest,  was  an  old  man  of  eighty. 
A  pair  of  large,  clear,  intelligent,  gray  eyes  looked  out  of  a 
head  so  worn  and  wasted  as  to  be  more  like  a  mere  skull  than 
the  head  of  a  living  man.  He  held  a  large  papyrus  roll  in  his 
gaunt  hand,  and  was  seated  in  an  easy  chair,  as  his  paralyzed 
limbs  did  not  allow  of  his  standing,  even  in  the  king's  presence. 
His  dress  was  snow-white,  as  beseemed  a  priest,  but  there  were 
patches  and  rents  to  be  seen  here  and  there.  His  figure  might 
perhaps  once  have  been*  tall  and  slender,  but  it  was  now  so  bent 
and  shrunk  by  age,  privation  and  suffering  as  to  look  unnatural 
and  dwarfish,  in  comparison  with  the  size  of  his  head. 

Nebenchari,  who  revered  Onuphis,  not  only  as  a  high-priest 
deeply  initiated  in  the  most  solemn  mysteries,  but  also  on 
account  of  his  great  age,*  stood  by  his  side  and  arranged  his 
cushions.  At  his  left  stood  Phanes,  and  then  Croesus,  Darius 
and  Prexaspes. 

The  king  sat  upon  his  throne.  His  face  was  dark  and  stern 
as  he  broke  the  silence  with  the  following  words:  "This  noble 
Greek,  who,  I  am  inclined  to  believe,  is  my  friend,  has  brought 
me  strange  tidings.  He  says  that  I  have  been  basely  deceived 
by  Amasis — that  my  deceased  wife  was  not  his,  but  his  prede- 
cessor's daughter." 

A  murmur  of  astonishment  ran  through  the  assembly. 

"This  old  man  is  here,  to  prove  the  imposture." 

Onuphis  gave  a  sign  of  assent. 

"Prexaspes,  my  first  question  is  to  you.  When  Nitetis  was 
intrusted  to  your  care  was  it  expressly  said  that  she  was  the 
daughter  of  Amasis?" 

"Expressly.  Nebenchari  had,  it  is  true,  praised  Tachot  to 
the  noble  Kassandane  as  the  most  beautiful  of  the  twin  sis- 
ters; but  Amasis  insisted  on  sending  Nitetis  to  Persia:-  I 
imagined  that,  by  confiding  his  most  precious  jewel  to  your 
care,  he  meant  to  put  you  under  a  special  obligation ;  and  as 

*Among  the  Egyptians  it  was  a  sacred  duty  to  honor  the  aged. 
"Herod.,"  ii,  80.  Cicero,  "De  Senectute,"  18.  The  Egyptian  remains 
testify  to  the  same.  In  the  Prisse  Papyrus,  the  fifth  commandment  of 
the  Mosaic  law  exists,  even  including  the  annexed  promise. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  361 

it  seemed  to  me  that  Nitetis  surpassed  her  sister,  not  only  in 
beauty  but  dignity  of  character,  I  ceased  to  sue  for  the  hand 
of  Tachot.  In  his  letter  to  you,  too,  as  you  will  remember, 
he  spoke  of  confiding  to  you  his  most  beautiful,  his  dearest 
child." 

"Those  were  his  words." 

"And  Nitetis  was,  without  question,  the  more  beautiful  and 
the  nobler  of  the  two  sisters,"  said  Croesus,  in  confirmation 
of  the  envoy's  remark.  "But  it  certainly  did  strike  me  that 
Tachot  was  her  royal  parents'  favorite." 

"Yes,"  said  Darius,  "without  doubt  Once,  at  a  revel, 
Amasis  joked  Bartja  in  these  words:  'Don't  look  too  deep 
into  Tachot's  eyes,  for  if  you  were  a  god  I  could  not  allow 
you  to  take  her  to  Persia!'  Psamtik  was  evidently  annoyed 
at  this  remark  and  said  to  the  king:  'Father,  remember 
Phanes.' " 

"Phanes!" 

"Yes,  my  sovereign,"  answered  the  Athenian.  "Once,  when 
he  was  intoxicated,  Amasis  let  out  his  secret  to  me,  and  Psam- 
tik was  warning  him  not  to  forget  himself  a  second  time." 

"Tell  the  story  as  it  occurred." 

"On  my  return  from  Cyprus  to  Sais  as  a  conqueror  a  great 
entertainment  was  given  at  court.  Amasis  distinguished 
me  in  every  way,  as  having  won  a  rich  province  for  him,  and 
even,  to  the  dismay  of  his  own  countrymen,  embraced  me. 
His  affection  increased  with  his  intoxication,  and  at  last,  as 
Psamtik  and  I  were  leading  him  to  his  private  apartments, 
he  stopped  at  the  door  of  his  daughter's  room,  and  said: 
'The  girls  sleep  there.  If  you  will  put  away  your  own  wife, 
Athenian,  I  will  give  you  Nitetis.  I  should  like  to  have  you 
for  a  son-in-law.  There's  a  secret  about  that  girl,  Phanes; 
she's  not  my  own  child.'  Before  his  drunken  father  could 
say  more  Psamtik  laid  his  hand  before  his  mouth  and  sent  me 
roughly  away  to  my  lodging,  where  I  thought  the  matter  over 
and  conjectured  what  I  now  from  reliable  sources  know  to  be 
the  truth.  I  entreat  you,  command  this  old  man  to  translate 
those  parts  of  the  physician  Sonnophre's  journal  which  allude 
to  this  story." 

Cambyses  nodded  his  consent,  and  the  old  man  began  to 
read  in  a  voice  far  louder  than  anyone  could  have  supposed 
possible  from  his  infirm  appearance:  "On  the  fifth  day  of 


362  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

the  month  Thoth*  I  was  sent  for  to  the  king.  I  had  expected 
this,  as  the  queen  was  near  her  confinement.  With  my  assist- 
ance she  was  easily  and  safely  delivered  of  a  child — a  weakly 
girl.  As  soon  as  the  nurse  had  taken  charge  of  this  child 
Amasis  led  me  behind  a  curtain  which  ran  across  his  wife's 
sleeping  apartment.  There  lay  another  infant  which  I  recog- 
nized as  the  child  of  Hophra's  widow,  who  herself  had  died 
under  my  hands  on  the  third  day  of  the  same  month.  The 
king  then  said,  pointing  to  this  strong  child:  'This  little 
creature  has  no  parents,  but,  as  it  is  written  in  the  law  that 
we  are  to  show  mercy  to  the  desolate  orphans,  f  Ladice  and 
I  have  determined  to  bring  her  up  as  our  own  daughter.  We 
do  not,  however,  'wish  that  this  deed  should  be  made  known, 
either  to  the  world  or  to  the  child  herself,  and  I  ask  you  to 
keep  the  secret  and  spread  a  report  that  Ladice  has  given  birth 
to  twins.  If  you  accomplish  this  according  to  our  wish  you 
shall  receive  to-day  five  thousand  rings  of  gold$  and  the  fifth 
part  of  this  sum  yearly  during  your  life.'  I  made  my  obeisance 
in  silence,  ordered  everyone  to  leave  the  sickroom,  and  when 
I  again  called  them  in  announced  that  Ladice  had  given  birth 
to  a  second  girl.  Amasis'  real  child  received  the  name  of 
Tachot — the  spurious  one  was  called  Nitetis." 

At  these  words  Cambyses  rose  from  his  seat  and  strode 
through  the  hall,  but  Onuphis  continued,  without  allowing 
himself  to  be  disturbed:  "Sixth  day  of  the  month  Thoth. 
This  morning  I  had  just  lain  down  to  rest  after  the  fatigues 
of  the  night  when  a  servant  appeared  with  the  promised  gold 
and  a  letter  from  the  king,  asking  me  to  procure  a  dead  child, 
to  be  buried  with  great  ceremony  as  the  deceased  daughter 
of  King  Hophra.  After  a  great  deal  of  trouble  I  succeeded 
an  hour  ago  in  obtaining  one  from  a  poor  girl  who  had  given 
birth  to  a  child  secretly  in  the  house  of  the  old  woman  who 
lives  at  the  entrance  to  the  city  of  the  dead.  The  little  one 

"The  month  of  Thoth,  or  Taut,  lasted  from  August  29  till  September 
27.  The  5th  of  Thoth  was,  therefore,  equal  to  our  2d  of  September. 

tWe  gather,  not  only  from  the  ritual  of  the  dead,  but  from  many 
others  of  the  Egyptian  documents,  that  charity,  especially  toward 
widows  and  orphans,  was  commanded  by  their  religion.  Thus,  for 
instance,  a  governor  of  high  rank  boasts  on  his  tomb  at  Beni-hassan 
(Lepsius,  "Denkmaler,"  ii,  vol.  22)  that  he  has  never  injured  a  weak 
child  (orphan  is  perhaps  meant),  nor  done  evil  to  a  widow. 

JSee  note  pp.  111-112. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  363 

had  caused  her  shame  and  sorrow  enough,  but  she  would  not 
be  persuaded  to  give  up  the  body  of  her  darling  until  I  prom- 
ised that  it  should  be  embalmed  and  buried  in  the  most  splen- 
did manner.  We  put  the  little  corpse  into  my  large  medicine 
chest,  my  son  Nebenchari  carried  it  this  time  instead  of  my 
servant  Hib,  and  so  it  was  introduced  into  the  room  where 
Hophra's  widow  had  died.  The  poor  girl's  baby  will  receive 
a  magnificent  funeral.  I  wish  I  might  venture  to  tell  her 
what  a  glorious  lot  awaits  her  darling  after  death.  Neben- 
chari has  just  been  sent  for  to  the  king." 

At  the  second  mention  of  this  name  Cambyses  stopped  in 
his  walk  and  said:  "Is  our  oculist,  Nebenchari,  the  man  whose 
name  is  mentioned  in  this  manuscript?" 

"Xebenchari,"  returned  Phanes,  "is  the  son  of  this  very 
Sonnophre  who  changed  the  children." 

The  physician  did  not  raise  his  eyes;  his  face  was  gloomy 
and  sullen. 

Cambyses  took  the  roll  of  papyrus  out  of  Onuphis'  hand, 
looked  at  the  characters  with  which  it  was  covered,  shook  his 
head,  went  up  to  Nebenchari  and  said:  "Look  at  these  char- 
acters and  tell  me  if  it  is  your  father's  writing." 

Nebenchari  fell  on  his  knees  and  raised  his  hands. 

"I  ask  did  your  father  paint  these  signs?" 

"I  do  not  know — whether — indeed — 

"I  will  know  the  truth.    Yes,  or  no?" 

"Yes,  my  king,  but " 

"Rise,  and  be  assured  of  my  favor.  Faithfulness  to  his  ruler 
is  the  ornament  of;  a  subject;  but  do  not  forget  that  I  am  your 
king  now.  Kassandane  tells  me  that  you  are  going  to  under- 
take a  delicate  operation  to-morrow  in  order  to  restore  her 
sight.  Are  you  not  venturing  too  much?" 

"I  can  depend  on  my  own  skill,  my  sovereign." 

"One  more  question.    Did  you  know  of  this  fraud?" 

"Yes." 

"And  you  allowed  me  to  remain  in  error?" 

"I  have  been  compelled  to  swear  secrecy,  and  an  oath— 

"An  oath  is  sacred.  Gobryas,  see  that  both  these  Egyp- 
tians receive  a  portion  from  my  table.  Old  man,  you  seem 
to  require  better  food." 

"I  need  nothing  beyond  air  to  breathe,  a  morsel  of  bread 
and  a  drop  of  water  to  preserve  me  from  dying  of  hunger  and 


364  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

thirst,  a  clean  robe,  that  I  may  be  pleasing  in  the  eyes  of  the 
gods  and  in  my  own,  and  a  small  chamber  for  myself  that  I 
may  be  a  hindrance  to  no  man.  I  have  never  been  richer 
than  to-day." 

"How  so?" 

"I  am  about  to  give  away  a  kingdom." 

"You  speak  in  enigmas." 

"By  my  translation  of  to-day  I  have  proved  that  your 
deceased  consort  was  the  child  of  Hophra.  Now,  our  laws 
allow  the  daughter  of  a  king  to  succeed  to  the  throne  when 
there  is  neither  son  nor  brother*  living;  if  she  should  die  child- 
less her  husband  becomes  her  legitimate  successor.  Amasis 
is  a  usurper,  but  the  throne  of  Egypt  is  the  lawful  birthright 
of  Hophra  and  his  descendants.  Psamtik  forfeits  every  right 
to  the  crown  the  moment  that  a  brother,  son,  daughter  or  son- 
in-law  of  Hophra  appears.  I  can,  therefore,  salute  my  present 
sovereign  as  the  future  monarch  of  my  own  beautiful  native 
land." 

Cambyses  smiled  self-complacently  and  Onuphis  went  on: 
"I  have  read  in  the  stars,  too,  that  Psamtik's  ruin  and  your  own 
accession  to  the  throne  of  Egypt  has  beeji  foreordained." 

"We'll  show  that  the  stars  were  right,"  cried  the  king,  "and 
as  for  you,  you  liberal  old  fellow,  I  command  you  to  ask  me 
any  wish  you  like." 

"Give  me  a  conveyance  and  let  me  follow  your  army  to 
Egypt.  I  long  to  close  my  eyes  on  the  Nile." 

"Your  wish  is  granted.     Now,  my  friends,  leave  me,  and . 
see  that  all  those  who  usually  eat  at  my  table  are  present  at 
this  evening's  revel.    We  will  hold  a  council  of  war  over  the 
luscious  wine.    Methinks  a  campaign  in  Egypt  will  pay  better 
than  a  contest  with  the  Massagetae." 

He  was  answered  by  a  joyful  shout  of  "Victory  to  the  king!" 
They  all  then  left  the  hall,  and  Cambyses,  summoning  his 
dressers,  proceeded  for  the  first  time  to  exchange  his  mourn- 
ing garments  for  the  splendid  royal  robes. 

Croesus  and  Phanes  went  into  the  green  and  pleasant  gar- 
den lying  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  royal  palace,  which 
abounded  in  groves  of  trees,  shrubberies,  fountains  and  flower 
beds.  Phanes  was  radiant  with  delight;  Croesus  full  of  care 
and  thought. 

*See  note  p.  335. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  365 

"Have  you  duly  reflected,'1  said  the  latter,  "on  the  burning 
brand  that  you  have  just  flung  out  into  the  world?" 

"It  is  only  children  and  fools  that  act  without  reflection," 
was  the  answer. 

"You  forget  those  who  are  deluded  by  passion." 

"I  do  not  belong-  to  that  number." 

"And  yet  revenge  is  the  most  fearful  of  all  the  passions." 

"Only  when  it  is  practiced  in  the  heat  of  feeling.  My 
revenge  is  as  cool  as  this  piece  of  iron ;  but  I  know  my  duty." 

"The  highest  duty  of  a  good  man  is  to  subordinate  his  own 
welfare  to  that  of  his  country." 

"That  I  know." 

"You  seem  to  forget,  however,  that  with  Egypt  you  are 
delivering  your  own  country  over  to  the  Persians." 

"I  do  not  agree  with  you  there." 

"Do  you  believe  that,  when  all  the  rest  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean coasts  belong  to  Persia,  she  will  leave  your  beautiful 
Greece  untouched?" 

"Certainly  not,  but  I  know  my  own  countrymen;  I  believe 
them  fully  capable  of  a  victorious  resistance  to  the  hosts  of 
the  barbarians,  and  am  confident  that  their  courage  and  great- 
ness will  rise  with  the  nearness  of  the  danger.  It  will  unite 
our  divided  tribes  into  one  great  nation  and  be  the  ruin  of  the 
tyrants." 

"I  cannot  argue  with  you,  for  I  am  no  longer  acquainted 
with  the  state  of  things  in  your  native  country,  and,  besides, 
I  believe  you  to  be  a  wise  man — not  one  who  would  plunge 
a  nation  into  ruin  merely  for  the  gratification  of  his  own  ambi- 
tion. It  is  a  fearful  thing  that  entire  nations  should  have  to 
suffer  for  the  guilt  of  one  man,  if  that  man  be  one  who  wears 
a  crown.  And  now,  if  my  opinion  is  of  any  importance  to  you, 
tell  me  what  the  deed  was  which  has  roused  your  desire  for 
vengeance." 

"Listen,  then,  and  never  try  again  to  turn  me  from  my 
purpose.  You  know  the  heir  to  the  Egyptian  throne,  and 
you  know  Rhodopis,  too.  The  former  was,  for  many  reasons, 
my  mortal  enemy,  the  latter  the  friend  of  every  Greek,  but 
mine  especially.  When  I  was  obliged  to  leave  Egypt  Psamtik 
threatened  me  with  his  vengeance;  your  son  Gyges  saved 
my  life.  A  few  weeks  later  my  two  children  came  to  Nau- 
kratis,  in  order  to  follow  me  out  to  Sigeum.  Rhodopis  took 


306  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

them  kindly  under  her  protection,  but  some  wretch  had  dis- 
covered the  secret  and  betrayed  it  to  the  prince.  The  very 
night  her  house  was  surrounded  and  searched — my  children 
found  and  taken  captive.  Amasis  had  meanwhile  become 
blind,  and  allowed  his  miserable  son  to  do  what  he  liked;  the 
wretch  dared  to — 

"Kill  your  only  son?" 

"You  have  said  it." 

"And  your  other  child?" 

"The  girl  is  still  in  their  hands." 

"They  will  do  her  an  injury  when  they  hear 

"Let  her  die.  Better  go  to  one's  grave  childless  than  unre- 
venged." 

"I  understand.  I  cannot  blame  you  any  longer.  The  boy's 
blood  must  be  avenged." 

And,  so  saying,  the  old  man  pressed  the  Athenian's  right 
hand.  The  latter  dried  his  tears,  mastered  his  emotion,  and 
cried:  "Let  us  go  to  the  council  of  war  now.  No  one  can 
be  so  thankful  for  Psamtik's  infamous  deeds  as  Cambyses. 
That  man  with  his  hasty  passions  was  never  made  to  be  a 
prince  of  peace." 

"And  yet  the  highest  duty  of  a  king  seems  to  me  to  work 
for  the  inner  welfare  of  his  kingdom.  But  human  beings 
are  strange  creatures;  they  praise  their  butchers  more  than 
their  benefactors.  How  many  poems  have  been  written  on 
Achilles!  but  did  anyone  ever  dream  of  writing  songs  on  the 
wise  government  of  Pittakus?"* 

"More  courage  is  required  to  shed  blood  than  to  plant 
trees." 

"But  much  more  kindness  and  wisdom  to  heal  wounds  than 
to  make  them.  I  have  still  one  question  which  I  should  very 
much  like  to  ask  you  before  we  go  into  the  hall.  Will  Bartja 
be  able  to  stay  at  Naukratis  when  Amasis  is  aware  of  the 
king's  intentions?" 

"Certainly  not.  I  have  prepared  him  for  this,  and  advised 
his  assuming  a  disguise  and  a  false  name." 

"Did  he  agree?" 

"He  seemed  willing  to  follow  my  advice." 

"But,  at  all  events,  it  would  be  well  to  send  a  messenger 
to  put  him  on  his  guard." 

*See  notes  pp.  9,  10. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  367 

"We  will  ask  the  king's  permission." 

"Now  we  must  go.  I  see  the  wagons  containing  the  viands 
for  the  royal  household  just  driving  away  from  the  kitchen." 

"How  many  people  are  maintained  from  the  kings  table 
daily?'' 

"About  fifteen  thousand."* 

'Then  the  Persians  may  thank  the  gods  that  their  king 
only  takes  one  meal  a  day." 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


Six  weeks  after  these  events  a  little  troop  of  horsemen  might 
have  been  seen  riding  toward  the  gates  of  Sardis. 

The  horses  and  their  riders  were  covered  with  sweat  and 
dust.  The  former  knew  that  they  \vere  drawing  near  a  town, 
where  there  wrould  be  stables  and  mangers,  and  exerted  all 
their  remaining  powers;  but  yet  their  pace  did  not  seem 
nearly  fast  enough  to  satisfy  the  impatience  of  two  men,  dressed 
in  Persian  costume,  who  rode  at  the  head  of  the  troop. 

The  well-kept  royal  road  ran  through  fields  of  good  black, 
arable  land,  planted  with  trees  of  many  different  kinds.  It 
crossed  the  outlying  spurs  of  the  Tmolus  range  of  mountains. 
At  their  foot  stretched  rows  of  olive,  citron  and  plane  trees, 
plantations  of  mulberries  and  vines,  at  a  higher  level  grew 
firs,  cypresses  and  nut-tree  copses.  Fig  trees  and  date  palms, 
covered  with  fruit,  stood  sprinkled  over  the  fields;  and  the 
woods  and  meadows  were  carpeted  with  brightly  colored  and 
sweetly  scented  flowers.  The  road  led  over  ravines  and  brooks, 
now  half  dried  up  by  the  heat  of  summer,  and  here  and  there 
the  traveler  came  upon  a  well  at  the  side  of  the  road  carefully 
inclosed,  with  seats  for  the  weary  and  sheltering  shrubs.  Ole- 
anders bloomed  in  the  more  damp  and  shady  places;  slender 

"This  immense  royal  household  is  said  to  have  cost  four  hundred 
talents,  that  is,  ninety  thousand  pounds  sterling,  daily.  Athenaeus, 
"Deipn.,"  p.  607. 


368  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

palms  waved  wherever  the  sun  was  hottest.  Over  this  rich 
landscape  hung  a  deep  blue,  perfectly  cloudless  sky,  bounded 
on  its  southern  horizon  by  the  snowy  peaks  of  the  Tmolus 
mountains,  and  on  the  west  by  the  Sipylus  range  of  hills, 
which  gave  a  bluish  shimmer  in  the  distance. 

The  road  went  down  into  the  valley,  passing  through  a 
little  wood  of  birches,  the  stems  of  which,  up  to  the  very  tree 
tops,  were  twined  with  vines  covered  with  bunches  of  grapes. 

The  horsemen  stopped  at  a  bend  in  the  road,  for  there, 
before  them,  in  the  celebrated  valley  of  the  Hermus,  lay  the 
golden  Sardis,  formerly  the  capital  of  the  Lyclian  kingdom 
and  residence  of  its  king  Croesus.* 

Above  the  reed-thatched  roofs  of  its  numerous  houses  rose 
a  black,  steep  rock;  the  white  marble  buildings  on  its  summit 
could  be  seen  from  a  great  distance.  These  buildings  formed 
the  citadel,  round  the  threefold  walls  of  which,  many  centuries 
before,  King  Meles  had  carried  a  lion  in  order  to  render  them 
impregnable.f  On  its  southern  side  the  citadel  rock  was  not 
so  steep,  and  houses  had  been  built  upon  it.  Croesus'  former 
palace  lay  to  the  north,  on  the  golden-sanded  Pactolus.  This 
reddish-colored  river  flowed  above  the  market-place  (which, 
to  our  admiring  travelers,  looked  like  a  barren  spot  in  the 
midst  of  a  blooming  meadow),  ran  on  in  a  westerly  direction, 
and  then  entered  a  narrow  mountain  valley,  where  it  washed 
the  walls  of  the  temple  of  Cybele, 

Large  gardens  stretched  away  toward  the  east,  and  in  the 
midst  of  them  lay  the  lake  Gygaeus,  covered  with  gay  boats 
and  snowy  swans,  and  sparkling  like  a  mirror. 

A  short  distance  from  the  lake  were  a  great  number  of  arti- 
ficial mounds,  three  of  which  were  especially  noticeable  from 
their  size  and  height4 

*Aeschylus,  "Pers.,"  v.  45. 

f'Herod.,"  i,  84  and  94,  v.  101. 

JThe  lake  of  Gygaea  was  known  as  early  as  Homer's  day.  "Iliad," 
ii,  863,  xx,  386,  392.  According  to  Prokesch  it  is  three  leagues  long 
and  one  broad.  See,  also,  Hamitlon's  "Asia  Minor,"  i,  p.  145.  "Herod- 
otus" (i,  93)  calls  the  tombs  of  the  Lydian  kings  the  largest  works  of 
human  hands,  next  to  the  Egyptian  and  Babylonian.  These  cone- 
shaped  hills  can  be  seen  to  this  day  standing  near  the  ruins  of  Sardis, 
not  far  from  the  lake  of  Gygaea.  Hamilton  ("Asia  Minor,"  i,  p.  45) 
counted  some  sixty  of  them,  and  could  not  ride  round  the  hill  of 
Alyattes  in  less  than  ten  minutes.  Prokesch  saw  one  hundred  such 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  369 

"What  can  those  strange-looking  earth  heaps  mean?"  said 
Darius,  the  leader  of  the  troop,  to  Prexaspes,  Cambyses'  envoy, 
who  rode  at  his  side. 

"They  are  the  graves  of  former  Lydian  kings,"  was  the 
answer.  "The  middle  one  is  in  memory  of  the  princely  pair 
Panthea  and  Abradatas,*  and  the  largest,  that  one  to  the  left, 
was  erected  to  the  father  of  Croesus,  Alyattes.  It  was  raised 
by  the  tradesmen,  mechanics  and  girls,  to  their  late  king,  and 
on  the  five  columns  which  stand  on  its  summit  you  can  read 
how  much  each  of  these  classes  contributed  to  the  work.  The 
girls  were  the  most  industrious.!  Gyges'  grandfather  is  said 
to  have  been  their  especial  friend." 

"Then  the  grandson  must  have  degenerated  very  much  from 
the  old  stock." 

"Yes,  and  that  seems  the  more  remarkable,  because  Croesus 
himself  in  his  youth  was  by  no  means  averse  to  women,  and 
the  Lydians  generally  are  devoted  to  such  pleasures.  You 
see  the  white  walls  of  that  temple  yonder  in  the  midst  of  its 
sacred  grove?  That  is  the  temple  of  the  goddess  of  Sardis,$ 

tumuli  ("Denkwiirdigkeiten  und  Erinnerungen  aus  dem  Orient"). 
The  largest,  the  tomb  of  Alyattes,  still  measures  three  thousand  four 
hundred  feet  in  circumference,  and  the  height  of  its  slope  is  six  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet.  According  to  Prokesch,  gigantic  Phallus  columns 
lie  in  some  of  these  graves.  Spiegelthal,  the  Prussian  consul  at 
Smyrna,  discovered  a  separate  chamber  in  the  tumulus  of  Alyattes. 
"Monatsberichte  der  Berliner  Akademie  der  Wissenschaften,"  Decem- 
ber, 1854,  p.  700. 

*See  note  p.  282. 

f'Herod.,"  i,  93. 

|The  Greeks  of  Asia  Minor  adopted  the  worship  of  this  goddess  and 
represented  her  either  as  riding  on  a  lion  or  attended  by  lions.  0. 
Miiller,  "Archaol.,"  sec.  395,  387.  In  her  hand  she  carried  a  tam- 
bourine, which,  according  to  Pindar,  in  "Strabo,"  p.  450,  was  struck  at 
her  wild  festivals.  In  his  "Thekla"  Paul  Heyse  has  given  a  beautiful 
description  of  a  Cybele  festival.  This  goddess  was  the  personification 
of  nature's  productiveness  and  fertility,  and  the  worship  offered  to 
her  was  of  a  voluptuous  character.  Among  the  Greeks  this  mother 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Asia  Minor  was  the  wife  of  Kronos,  the  mother 
of  Zeus,  and  the  grandmother  of  the  gods.  The  myth  of  Cybele  or 
the  fruitful  earth  probably  lies  at  the  root  of  the  story  of  Niobe,  who 
is  robbed  of  her  children  every  autumn.  M.  Duncker,  "Geschichte 
des  Alterthums,"  i,  p.  252.  The  stone  of  Niobe  looks,  as  Pausanias 
tells  us  (i,  21),  like  a  weeping  woman.  On  the  4th  of  November,  1862, 
v.  Olfers  laid  some  photographs  before  the  Archaeological  society  at 
Berlin,  which  prove  that  this  figure  of  a  woman  had  in  some  measure 


370  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

Cybele  or  Ma,  as  they  call  her.  In  that  grove  there  is  mam 
a  sheltered  spot  where  the  young  people  of  Sardis  meet,  as 
they  say,  in  honor  of  their  goddess." 

"Just  as  in  Babylon,  at  the  festival  of  Mylitta."* 

"There  is  the  same  custom,  too,  on  the  coast  of  Cyprus."}" 
When  I  landed  there  on  the  way  back  from  Egypt  I  was  met 
by  a  troop  of  lovely  girls,  who,  with  songs,  dances,  and  the 
clang  of  cymbals  conducted  me  to  the  sacred  grove  of  their 
goddess." 

"Well,  Zopyrus  will  not  grumble  at  Bartja's  illness." 

"He  will  spend  more  of  his  time  in  the  grove  of  Cybele 
than  at  his  patient's  bedside.  How  glad  I  shall  be  to  see 
that  jolly  fellow  again!" 

"Yes,  he'll  keep  you  from  falling  into  those  melancholy  fits 
that  you  have  been  so  subject  to  lately." 

"You  are  quite  right  to  blame  me  for  those  fits,  and  I  must 
not  yield  to  them,  but  they  are  not  without  ground.  Croesus 
says  we  only  get  low-spirited  when  we  are  either  too  lazy  or 
too  weak  to  struggle  against  annoyances,  and  I  believe  he  is 
right.  But  no  one  shall  dare  to  accuse  Darius  of  weakness 
or  idleness.  If  I  can't  rule  the  world,  at  least  I  will  be  my 
own  master." 

And  as  he  said  these  words,  the  handsome  youth  drew 
himself  up,  and  sat  erect  in  his  saddle.  His  companion  gazed 
in  wonder  at  him. 

"Really,  you  son  of  Hystaspes,"  he  said,  "I  believe  you 
must  be  meant  for  something  great.  It  was  not  by  chance 
that,  when  you  were  still  a  mere  child,  the  gods  sent  their 
favorite  Cyrus  that  dream  which  induced  him  to  order  you 
into  safe  keeping." 

been  obtained  by  the  assistance  of  art.  Cybele  was  worshiped  at 
Pessinus  in  the  form  of  a  middle-sized  stone,  which  a  man  could  lift. 
This  stone  was  brought  to  Rome  at  the  end  of  the  third  century,  B.  C., 
by  command  of  the  Sibylline  books,  and  used  to  test  -the  suspected 
chastity  of  the  vestal  virgins.  "Livius,"  xxix,  14.  Its  priests  were 
eunuchs  from  Phrygia.  The  two  last-named  circumstances,  in  con- 
nection with  other  information,  prove  that  two  different  divinities 
(the  one  friendly,  the  other  hostile  to  production)  must  have  been 
denoted  by  the  name  of  Cybele.  Duncker  very  justly  sees  in  her  a 
union  of  the  Syrian  Astarte  and  Ashera. 

*"Herod.,"  i,  199.    "Book  of  Baruch,"  vi,  43.    "Strabo,"  1058. 

f'Herod.,"  i,  199.  "Justin,"  xviii,  5.  Movers,  "Religion  der  Phoen- 
izier,  a.  a.  O." 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  371 

"And  yet  my  wings  have  never  appeared." 

"Not  bodily  ones,  certainly;  but  mental  ones,  likely  enough. 
Young  man,  young  man,  you're  on  a  dangerous  road." 

"Have  winged  creatures  any  need  to  be  afraid  of  preci- 
pices?" 

"Certainly,  when  their  strength  fails  them." 

"But  I  am  strong." 

"Stronger  creatures  than  you  will  try  to  break  your  pin- 
ions." 

"Let  them.  I  want  nothing  but  what  is  right,  and  shall 
trust  to  my  star." 

"Do  you  know  its  name?" 

"It  ruled  in  the  hour  of  my  birth,  and  its  name  is  Anahita."* 

"I  think  I  know  better.  A  burning  ambition  is  the  sun 
whose  rays  guide  all  your  actions.  Take  care;  I  tried  that 
way  myself  once;  it  leads  to  fame  or  to  disgrace,  but  very 
seldom  to  happiness.  Fame  to  the  ambitious  is  like  salt  water 
to  the  thirsty;  the  more  he  gets  the  more  he  wants.  I  was 
once  only  a  poor  soldier,  and  am  now  Cambyses'  ambassador. 
But  you,  what  can  you  have  to  strive  for?  There  is  no  man 
in  the  kingdom  greater  than  yourself,  after  the  sons  of  Cyrus. 
Do  my  eyes  deceive  me?  Surely  those  two  men  riding  to 
meet  us  with  a  troop  of  horsemen  must  be  Gyges  and  Zopyrus. 
That  Angare  who  left  the  inn  before  us  must  have  told  them 
of  our  coming." 

"To  be  sure.  Look  at  that  fellow  Zopyrus,  how  he's  waving 
and  beckoning  with  that  palm  leaf." 

"Here,  you  fellows,  cut  us  a  few  twigs  from  those  bushes, 
quick.  We'll  answer  his  green  palm  leaf  with  a  purple  pome- 
granate branch." 

In  a  few  minutes  the  friends  had  embraced  one  another, 
and  the  two  bands  were  riding  together  into  the  populous 
town,  through  the  gardens  surrounding  the  lake  Gygaeus,  the 
Sardians'  place  of  recreation.  It  was  now  near  sunset,  a  cooler 
breeze  was  beginning  to  blow,  and  the  citizens  were  pouring 
through  the  gates  to  enjoy  themselves  in  the  open  air.  Lydian 
and  Persian  warriors,  the  former  wearing  richly  ornamented 
helmets,  the  latter  tiaras  in  the  form  of  a  cylinder,  were  fol- 
lowing girls  who  were  painted  and  wreathed.  Children  were 

*The  planet  Venus.  Vullers,  "Fragmente  iiber  die  Religion  des 
Zoroaster." 


372  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

being  led  to  the  lake  by  their  nurses  to  see  the  swans  fed. 
An  old  blind  man  was  seated  under  a  plane  tree  singing  sad 
ditties  to  a  listening  crowd  and  accompanying  them  on  the 
magadis,  the  twenty-stringed  Lydian  lute.  Youths  were  enjoy- 
ing themselves  at  games  of  ball,  ninepins,  and  dice,*  and  half- 
grown  girls  screaming  with  fright  when  the  ball  hit  one  of 
their  group  or  nearly  fell  into  the  water. 

The  travelers  scarcely  noticed  this  gay  scene,  though  at 
another  time  it  would  have  delighted  them.  They  were  too 
much  interested  in  inquiring  particulars  of  Bartja's  illness  and 
recovery. 

At  the  brazen  gates  of  the  palace  which  had  formerly 
belonged  to  Croesus  they  were  met  by  Oroetes,  the  satrap  of 
Sardis,  in  a  magnificent  court  dress  overloaded  with  orna- 
ment. He  was  a  stately  man,  whose  small,  penetrating  black 
eyes  looked  sharply  out  from  beneath  a  bushy  mass  of  eye- 
brows. His  satrapy  was  one  of  the  most  important  and  profit- 
able in  the  entire  kingdom,  and  his  household  could  bear  a 
comparison  with  that  of  Cambyses  in  richness  and  splendor. 
Though  he  possessed  fewer  wives  and  attendants  than  the 
king,  it  was  no  inconsiderable  troop  of  guards,  slaves,  eunuchs 
and  gorgeously  dressed  officials  which  appeared  at  the  palace 
gates  to  receive  the  travelers. 

The  viceregal  palace,  which  was  still  kept  up  with  great 
magnificence,  had  been,  in  the  days  when  Croesus  occupied 
it,  the  most  splendid  of  royal  residences;  after  the  taking  of 
Sardis,  however,  the  greater  part  of  the  dethroned  king's 
.reasures  and  works  of  art  had  been  sent  to  Cyrus'  treasure- 
house  in  Pasargadae.  When  that  time  of  terror  had  passed 
the  Lydians  brought  many  a  hidden  treasure  into  the  light 
of  day  once  more,  and  by  their  industry  and  skill  in  art  dur- 
ing the  peaceful  years  which  they  enjoyed  under  Cyrus  and 
Cambyses,  recovered  their  old  position  so  far  that  Sardis 
was  again  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  wealthiest  c;ties  of  Asia 
Minor,  and,  therefore,  of  the  world. 

Accustomed  as  Darius  and  Prexaspes  were  to  royal  splen- 

*The  Lydians  are  said  to  have  invented  various  games,  among 
others  with  dice  and  balls,  but  not  the  game  of  draughts.  "Herod.," 
i,  94.  This  last  seems  to  have  originated  in  Egypt,  and  it  is  highly 
probable  that  the  game  of  ball  was  known  on  the  Nile  earlier  than  in 
Lydia. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  373 

dor,  they  were  still  astonished  at  the  beauty  and  brilliancy  of 
the  satrap's  palace.  The  marble  work  especially  made  a  great 
impression  on  them,  as  nothing  of  the  kind  was  to  be  fqund 
in  Babylon,  Susa  or  Ekbatana,*  where  burned  brick  and  cedar 
wood  supply  the  place  of  the  polished  marble. 

They  found  Bartja  lying  on  a  couch  in  the  great  hall; 
he  looked  very  pale,  and  stretched  out  his  arms  toward  them. 

The  friends  supped  together  at  the  satrap's  table  and  then 
retired  to  Bartja's  private  room,  in  order  to  enjoy  an  undis- 
turbed conversation 

"Well,  Bartja,  how  did  you  come  by  this'dangerous  illness?" 
was  Darius'  first  question  after  they  were  seated. 

"I  was  thoroughly  well,  as  you  know/'  said  Bartja,  "when 
we  left  Babylon,  and  we  reached  Germa,  a  little  town  on  the 
Sangarius,  without  the  slightest  hindrance.  The  ride  was 
long  and  we  were  very  tired,  burned,  too,  by  the  scorching 
May  sun,  and  covered  with  dust;  the  river  flows  close  by  the 
station,  and  its  waves  looked  so  clear  and  bright — so  inviting 
for  a  bathe — that  in  a  minute  Zopyrus  and  I  were  off  our 
horses,  undressed,  and  in  the  water.  Gyges  told  us  we  were 
very  imprudent,  but  we  felt  confident  that  we  were  too  much 
inured  to  such  things  to  get  any  harm,  and  very  much  enjoyed 
our  swim  in  the  cool,  green  water.  Gyges,  perfectly  calm, 
as  usual,  let  us  have  our  own  way,  waited  till  our  bath  was 
over,  and  then  plunged  in  himself. 

"In  two  hours  we  were  in  our  saddles  again,  pushing  on 
as  if  for  our  very  lives,  changing  horses  at  every  station,  and 
turning  night  into  day. 

"We  were  nearing  Ipsus  when  I  began  to  feel  violent  pain 
in  the  head  and  limbs.  I  was  ashamed  to  say  anything  about 
it  and  kept  upright  in  my  saddle  until  we  had  to  take  fresh 
horses  at  Bagis.  Just  as  I  was  in  the  very  act  of  mounting  I 
lost  my  senses  and  strength  and  fell  down  on  the  ground  in 
a  dead  faint." 

"Yes,  a  pretty  fright  you  gave  us,"  interrupted  Zopyrus, 

"The  palace  of  Persepolis  did  not  exist  at  the  date  of  our  story.  It 
was  built  partly  of  black  stone  from  Mount  Rachmed,  and  partly  of 
white  marble;  it  was  probably  begun  by  Darius.  The  palace  of  Susa 
was  built  of  brick  ("Strabo,"  p.  728),  that  of  Ekbatana  of  wood  overlaid 
with  plates  of  gold  of  immense  value  and  roofed  with  tiles  made  of 
the  precious  metals.  "Polyb.,"  x,  27. 


374  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"by  dropping  down  in  that  fashion.  It  was  fortunate  that 
Gyges  was  there,  for  I  lost  my  wits  entirely;  he,  of  course, 
kept  his  presence  of  mind,  and,  after  relieving  his  "feelings  in 
words  not  exactly  flattering  to  us  two,  he  behaved  like  a  cir- 
cumspect general.  A  fool  of  a  doctor  came  running  up  and 
protested  that  it  was  all  over  with  poor  Bartja,  for  which  I 
gave  him  a  good  thrashing." 

"Which  he  didn't  particularly  object  to,"  said  the  satrap, 
laughing,  "seeing  that  you  told  them  to  lay  a  gold  stater  on 
every  stripe." 

"Yes,  yes,  my  pugnacity  costs  me  very  dear  sometimes. 
But  to  our  story.  As  soon  as  Bartja  had  opened  his  eyes 
Gyges  sent  me  off  to  Sardis  to  fetch  a  good  physician  and  an 
easy-traveling  carriage.  That  ride  won't  so  soon  be  imitated. 
An  hour  before  I  reached  the  gates  my  third  horse  knocked 
up  under  me,  so  I  had  to  trust  to  my  own  legs  and  began  run-  , 
ning  as  fast  as  I  could.  The  people  must  all  have  thought 
me  mad.  At  last  I  saw  a  man  on  horseback — a  merchant  from 
Kelaenae — dragged  him  from  his  horse,  jumped  into  the  sad- 
dle and  before  the  next  morning  dawned  I  wTas  back  again 
with  our  invalid,  bringing  the  best  physician  in  Sardis  and 
Oroetes'  most  commodious  traveling  carriage.  We  brought 
him  to  this  house  at  a  slow  foot  pace,  and  here  a  violent  fever 
came  on;  he  became  delirious,  talked  all  the  nonsense  that 
could  possibly  come  into  a  human  brain  and  made  us  so 
awfully  anxious  that  the  mere  remembrance  of  that  time  brings 
the  big  drops  of  perspiration  to  my  forehead." 

Bartja  took  his  friend's  hand.  "I  owe  my  life  to  him  and 
Gyges,"  said  he,  turning  to  Darius.  "Till  to-day,  when  they 
set  out  to  meet  you,  they  have  never  left  me  for  a  minute ;  a 
mother  could  not  have  nursed  her  sick  child  more  carefully. 
And,  Oroetes,  I  am  much  obliged  to  you,  too;  doubly  so, 
because  your  kindness  subjected  you  to  annoyance." 

"How  could  that  be?"  asked  Darius. 

"That  Polykrates  of  Samos,  whose  name  we  heard  so  often 
in  Egypt,  has  the  beat  physician  that  Greece  has  ever  produced. 
While  I  was  lying  here  ill  Oroetes  wrote  to  this  Democedes* 
making  him  immense  promises  if  he  would  only  come  Jo 
Sardis,  directly.  The  Samian  pirates,  who  infest  the  whoi<2 

*Se«  noto  p.  42. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  376 

• 

Ionian  coast,  took  the  messenger  captive  and  brought  Oroetes' 
letter  to  their  master,  Polykrates.  He  opened  it  and  sent  the 
messenger  back  with  the  answer  that  Democedes  was  in  his  pay 
and  that  if  Oroetes*  needed  his  advice  he  must  apply  to  Poly- 
krates himself.  Our  generous  friend  submitted  for  my  sake 
and  asked  the  Samian  to  send  his  physician  to  Sardis." 

"Well,"  said  Prexaspes,"  and  what  followed?" 

"The  proud  island  prince  sent  him  at  once.  He  cured  me 
as  you  see,  and  left  us  a  few  days  ago  loaded  with  presents." 

"Well,"  interrupted  Zopyrus,  "I  can  quite  understand  that 
Polykrates  likes  to  keep  his  physician  near  him.  I  assure  you, 
Darius,  it  would  not  be  easy  to  find  his  equal.  He's  as  hand- 
some as  Minutscher,  as  clever  as  Piran  Wisa,  as  strong  as 
Rustem,f  and  as  benevolent  and  helpful  as  the  god  Soma.J 
I  wish  you  could  have  seen  how  well  he  threw  those  round 
metal  plates  he  calls  disks.  I  am  no  weakling,  but  when  we 
wrestled  he  soon  threw  me.  And  then  he  could  tell  such 
famous  stories — stories  that  made  a  man's  heart  dance  within 
him." 

"We  know  just  such  a  fellow,  too,"  said  Darius,  smiling  at 
his  friend's  enthusiasm.  "That  Athenian,  Phanes,  who  came 
to  prove  our  innocence." 

"The  physician  Democedes  is  from  Crotona,  a  place  which 
must  lie  somewhere  very  near  the  setting  sun." 

"But  is  inhabited  by  Greeks,  like  Athens,"  added  Oroetes. 
"Ah,  my  young  friends,  you  must  beware  of  these  fellows; 
they're  as  cunning,  deceitful  and  selfish  as  they  are  strong, 
clever  and  handsome." 

"Democedes  is  generous  and  sincere,"  cried  Zopyrus. 

"And  Croesus  himself  thinks  Phanes  not  only  an  able  but 
a  virtuous  man,"  added  Darius. 

"Sappho,  too,  has  always  and  only  spoken  well  of  the  Athe- 
nian," said  Bartja,  in  confirmation  of  Darius'  remark.  "But 
don't  let  us  talk  any  more  about  these  Greeks,"  he  went  on. 

*This  very  Oroetes  afterward  succeeded  in  enticing  Polykrates  to 
Sardis  and  there  crucified  him.  "Herod.,"  iii,  120-125.  "Valerius 
Maximufc,,"  vi,  9,  5. 

fThese  are  the  names  of  heroes  from  the  oldest  of  the  Persian 
legends,  preserved  to  us  principally  in  the  epic  poems  of  Firdusi. 

tSee  note  p.  201. 


376  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

• 

"They  give  -Oroetes  so  much  trouble  by  their  refractory  and 
stubborn  conduct  that  he  is  not  very  fond  of  them.'' 

"The  gods  know  that,"  sighed  the  satrap.  "It's  more  diffi- 
cult to  keep  one  Greek  town  in  order  than  all  the  countries 
between  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris." 

While  Oroetes  was  speaking  Zopyrus  had  gone  to  the  win- 
dow. "The  stars  are  already  high  in  the  heavens,"  he  said,  "and 
Bartja  is  tired;  so  make  haste,  Darius,  and  tell  us  something 
about  home." 

The  son  of  Hystaspes  agreed  at  once  and  began  by  relating 
the  events  which  we  have-heard  already.  Bartja  especially  was 
distressed  at  hearing  of  Nitetis'  sad  end,  and  the  discovery  of 
Ama,sis'  fraud  filled  them  with  astonishment.  After  a  short 
pause  Darius  went  on: 

"When  once  Nitetis'  descent  had  been  fully  proved  Cambyses 
was  like  a  changed  man.  He  called  a  council  of  war,  and 
appeared  at  table  in  the  royal  robes  instead  of  his  mourning 
garments.  You  can  imagine  what  universal  joy  the  idea  of 
war  with  Egypt  excited.  Even  Croesus,  who,  you  know,  is 
one  of  Amasis'  well-wishers  and  advises  peace  whenever  it  is 
possible,  had  not  a  word  to  say  against  it.  The  next  morning, 
as  usual,  what  had  been  resolved  on  in  intoxication  was  recon- 
sidered by  sober  heads ;  after  several  opinions  had  been  given 
Phanes  asked  permission  to  speak,  and  spoke,  I  should  think, 
for  an  hour.  But  how  well!  It  was  as  if  every  word  he  said 
came  direct  from  the  gods.  He  has  learned  our  language  in  a 
wonderfully  short  time,  but  it  flowed  from  his  lips  like  honey. 
Sometimes  he  drew  tears  from  every  eye,  at  others  excited 
stormy  shouts  of  joy,  and  then  wild  bursts  of  rage.  His  ges- 
tures were  as  graceful  as  those  of  a  dancing-girl,  but  at  the 
same  time  manly  and  dignified.  I  can't  repeat  his  speech ;  my 
poor  words,  by  the  side  of  his,  would  sound  like  the  rattle  of  a 
drum  after  a  peal  of  thunder.  But  when,  at  last,  inspired  and 
carried  away  by  his  eloquence,  we  had  unanimously  decided -on 
war,  he  begun  to  speak  once  more  on  the  best  ways  and  means 
of  prosecuting  it  successfully." 

Here  Darius  was  obliged  to  stop,  as  Zopyrus  had  fallen  on  < 
his  neck  in  an  ecstasy  of  delight.    Bartja,  Gyges  and  Oroetes 
were  not  less  delighted,  and  they  all  begged  him  to  go  on  with 
his  tale. 

"Our  army,"  began  Darius,  afresh,  "ought  to  be  at  the  bound- 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  377 

aries  of  Egypt  by  the  month  of  Farwardin,*  as  the  inundation 
of  the  Nile,  which  would  hinder  the  march  of  our  infantry,  be- 
gins in  Murdad. t  Phanes  is  now  on  his  way  to  the  Arabians 
to  secure  their  assistance, $  in  hopes  that  these  sons  of  the 
desert  may  furnish  our  army  with  water  and  guides  through 
their  dry  and  thirsty  land.  He  will  also  endeavor  to  win  the 
rich  island  of  Cyprus,  which  he  once  conquered  for  Amasis, 
over  to  our  side.  As  it  was  through  his  mediation  that  the 
kings  of  the  island  were  allowed  to  retain  their  crowns  they 
will  be  willing  to  listen  to  his  advice.  In  short,  the  Athenian 
leaves  nothing  uncared  for,  and  knows  every  road  and  path 
as  if  he  were  the  sun  himself.  He  showed  us  a  picture  of  the 
world  on  a  plate  of  copper." 

Oroetes  nodded  and  said:  "I  have  such  a  picture  of  the 
world,  too.  A  Milesian  named  Hekataeus,§  who  spends  his 
life  in  traveling,  drew  it,  and  gave  it  to  me  in  exchange  for  a 
free  pass." 

"What  notions  these  Greeks  have  in  their  heads?"  exclaimed 
Zopyrus,  who  could  not  explain  to  himself  what  a  picture  of 
the  world  could  look  like. 

"To-morrow  I  will  show  you  my  copper  tablet,"  said  Oroetes, 
"but  now  we  must  allow  Darius  to  go  on." 

"So  Phanes  has  gone  to  Arabia,"  continued  Darius,  "and 
Prexaspes  was  sent  hither  not  only  to  command  you,  Oroetes, 
to  raise  as  many  forces  as  possible,  especially  lonians  and 

*Farwardin  can  be  reckoned  as  our  March,  Murdad  as  July.  Spiegel, 
"A vesta,  Einleitung,"  p.  98. 

tFarwardin,  March.    Murdad,  July. 

f'Herod.,"  iii,  5. 

§Hekataeus  of  Miletus  may  be  called  "the  father  of  geography,"  as 
Herodotus  was  "the  father  of  history."  He  improved  the  map  made 
by  Anaximander,  and  his  great  work,  "The  Journey  Round  the 
World,"  was  much  prized  by  the  ancients;  but,  unfortunately,  with 
the  exception  of  some  very  small  fragments,  has  now  perished. 
Herodotus  assures  us  (v,  36)  that  Hekataeus  was  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  every  part  of  the  Persian  empire,  and  has  also  traveled 
over  Egypt.  He  lived  at  the  date  of  our  narrative,  having  been  born 
at  Miletus  550  B.  C.  He  lived  to  see  the  fall  of  his  native  city  in  496 
B.  C.  His  map  has  been  restored  by  Klausen  in  the  "Fragm.  Hecat." 
and  can  be  seen,  also,  in  Mure's  "Lan.  and  Lit.  of  Ancient  Greece," 
vol.  iv.  Maps  existed,  however,  much  earlier,  the  earliest  known 
being  one  of  the  gold  mines,  drawn  very  cleverly  by  an  Egyptian 
priest,  and  so  well  sketched  as  to  give  a  pretty  clear  idea  of  the  part 
of  the  country  intended.  It  is  preserved  in  the  Egyptian  museum  at 
Turin.  • 


378  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

Carians,  of  whom  Phanes  has  offered  to  undertake  the  com 
mand,  but  also  to  propose  terms  of  alliance  to  Polykrates." 

"To  that  pirate?"  asked  Oroetes,  and  his  face  darkened. 

"The  very  same,"  answered  Prexaspes,  not  appearing  to 
notice  the  change  in  Oroetes'  face.  "Phanes  has  already  re- 
ceived assurances  from  this  important  naval  power  which 
sound  as  if  we  might  expect  a  favorable  answer  to  my  pro- 
posal." 

"The  Phoenician,  Syrian,  and  Ionian  ships  of  war  would  be 
quite  sufficient  to  cope  with  the  Egyptian  fleet." 

"There  you  are  right;  but  if  Polykrates  were  to  declare 
against  us  we  should  not  be  able  to  hold  our  own  at  sea;  you 
say  yourself  that  he  is  all-powerful  in  the  Aegean." 

"Still  I  decidedly  disapprove  of  entering  into  treaty  with  such 
a  robber." 

"We  want  powerful  allies,  and  Polykrates  is  very  powerful 
at  sea.  It  will  be  time  to  humble  him  when  we  have  used  him 
to  help  us  in  conquering  Egypt.  For  the  present  I  entreat  you 
to  suppress  all  personal  teeling  and  keep  the  success  of  our 
great  plan  alone  in  view.  I  am  empowered  to  say  this  in  the 
king's  name,  and  to  show  his  ring  in  token  thereof." 

Oroetes  made  a  brief  obeisance  before  the  symbol  of  despo- 
tism and  asked:  "What  does  Cambyses  wish  me  to  do?" 

"He  commands  you  to  use  every  means  in  your  power  to 
secure  an  alliance  with  the  Samian;  and  also  to  send  your 
troops  to  join  the  main  army  on  the  plains  of  Babylon  as  soon 
as  possible." 

The  satrap  bowed  and  left  the  room  with  a  look  betraying 
irritation  and  defiance. ' 

When  the  echo  of  his  footsteps  had  died  away  among  the 
colonnades  of  the  inner  court  Zopyrus  exclaimed:  "Poor  fel- 
low, it's  really  very  hard  for  him  to  meet  that  proud  man,  who 
has  so  often  behaved  insolently  to  him,  on  friendly  terms. 
Think  of  that  story  about  the  physician,  for  instance." 

"You  are  too  lenient,"  interrupted  Darius.  "I  don't  like 
this  Oroetes.  He  has  no  right  to  receive  the  king's  commands 
in  that  way.  Didn't  you  see  him  bite  his  lips  till  they  bled 
when  Prexaspes  showed  him  the  king's  ling?" 

"Yes,"  cried  the  envoy,  "he's  a  defiant,  perverse  man.  H?. 
left  the  room  so  quickly,  only  because  he  could  not  keep  down 
his  anger  any  longer."  • 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  379 

"Still,"  said  Bartja,  "I  hope  you'll  keep  his  conduct  a  secret 
from  my  brother,  for  he  has  been  very  good  to  me." 

Prexaspes  bowed,  but  Darius  said:  "We  must  keep  an  eye 
on  the  fellow.  Just  here,  so  far  from  the  king's  gate  and  in  the 
midst  of  nations  hostile  to  Persia,  we  want  governors  who  are 
more  ready  to  obey  the  king  than  this  Oroetes  seems  to  be. 
Why,  he  seems  to  fancy  he  is  king  of  Lydia!" 

"Do  you  dislike  the  satrap?"  asked  Zopyrus. 

"Well,  I  think  I  do,"  was  the  answer.  "I  always  take  an 
aversion  or  fancy  to  people  at  first  sight,  and  very  seldom  find 
reason  to  change  my  mind  afterward.  I  disliked  Oroetes  be- 
fore I  heard  him  speak  a  word,  and  I  remember  having  the 
same  feeling  toward  Psamtik,  though  Amasis  took  my  fancy." 

"There's  no  doubt  that  you're  very  different  from  the  rest 
of  us,"  said  Zopyrus,  laughing;  "but  now,  to  please  me,  let 
this  poor  Oroetes  alone.  I'm  glad  he's  gone,  though,  because 
we  can  talk  more  freely  about  home.  How  is  Kassandane  and 
your  worshiped  Atossa?  Croesus,  too,  how  is  he,  and  what 
are  the  wives  about?  They'll  soon  have  a  new  companion. 
To-morrow  I  intend  to  sue  for  the  hand  of  Oroetes'  pretty 
daughter.  We've  talked  a  good  deal  of  love  with  our  eyes 
already.  I  don't  know  whether  we  spoke  Persian  or  Syrian, 
but  we  said  the  most  charming  things  to  one  another." 

The  friends  laughed,  and  Darius,  joining  in  their  merriment, 
said:  "Now  you  shall  hear  a  piece  of  very  good  news.  I  have 
kept  it  to  the  last,  because  it  is  the  best  I  have.  Now,  Bartja, 
prick  up  your  ears.  Your  mother,  the  noble  Kassandane,  has 
been  cured  of  her  blindness!  Yes,  yes;  it  is  quite  true.  Who 
cured  her?  Why,  who  should  it  be,  but  that  crabbed  old  Ne- 
benchari,  who  has  become,  if  possible,  moodier  than  ever. 
Come,  now,  calm  yourselves,  and  let  me  go  on  with  my  story, 
or  it  will  be  morning  before  Bartja  gets  to  sleep.  Indeed,  I 
think  we  had  better  separate  now;  you've  heard  the  best,  and 
have  something  to  dream  about.  What,  ydu  will  not?  Then, 
in  the  name  of  Mithras,  I  must  go  on,  though  it  should  make 
my  heart  bleed. 

"I'll  begin  with  the  king.  As  long  as  Phanes  was  in 
Babylon  he  seemed  to  forget  his  grief  for  Nitetis.  The  Athe- 
nian was  never  allowed  to  leave  him.  They  were  as  inseparable 
as  Reksch  and  Rustem.*  Cambyses  had  no  time  to  think  of 
*See  note  p.  304, 


380  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

his  sorrow,  for  Phanes  had  always  some  new  idea  or  other,  and 
entertained  us  all,  as  well  as  the  king,  marvelously.  And  we 
all  liked  him,  too;  perhaps  because  no  one  could  really  envy 
him.  Whenever  he  was  alone  the  tears  came  into  his  eyes  at 
the  thought  of  his  boy,  and  this  made  his  great  cheerfulness 
— a  cheerfulness  which  he  always  managed  to  impart  to  the 
king,  Bartja — the  more  admirable.  Every  morning  he  went 
down  to  the  Euphrates  with  Cambyses  and  the  rest  of  us,  and 
enjoyed  watching  the  sons  of  the  Achaemenidae  at  their  exer- 
cises.* When  he  saw  them  riding  at  full  speed  past  the  sand 
hills  and  shooting  the  pots  placed  on  them  into  fragments  with 
their  arrows,  or  throwing  blocks  of  wood  at  one  another  and 
cleverly  evading  the  blows,f  he  confessed  that  he  could  not 
imitate  them  in  these  exercises,  but  at  the  same  time  he  offered 
to  accept  a  challenge  from  any  of  us  in  throwing  the  spear 
and  in  wrestling.  In  his  quick  way  he  sprang  from  his  horse, 
stripped  off  his  clothes — it  was  really  a  shame$ — and,  to  the 
delight  of  the  boys,  threw  their  wrestling  master  as  if  he  had 
been  a  feather.  Then  he  knocked  over  a  number  of  bragging 
fellows,  and  would  have  thrown  me,  too,  if  he  had  not  been 
too  fatigued.  I  assure  you  I  am  really  stronger  than  he  is,  for 
I  can  lift  greater  weights,  but  he  is  as  nimble  as  an  eel,  and  has 
wonderful  tricks  by  which  he  gets  hold  of  his  adversary.  His 
being  naked,  too,  is  a  great  help.  If  it  were  not  so  indecent, 
we  ought  always  to  wrestle  stripped,  and  anoint  our  skins,  as 
the  Greeks  do,  with  the  olive  oil.  He  beat  us,  too,  in  throwing 
the  spear,  but  the  king,  who  you  know  is  proud  of  being  the 
best  archer  in  Persia,  sent  his  arrow  farther.  Phanes  was 
especially  pleased  with  our  rule,  that  in  a  wrestling-match  the 
one  who  is  thrown  must  kiss  the  hand  of  his  victor.  At  last 

*See  note  p.  181. 

tNiebuhr,  on  his  journey  to  Asia,  saw  several  young  men  at 
Shiraz  playing  very  eagerly  at  these  games.  See,  also,  Hyde,  "De 
Ludis  Orientalium."  . 

Jin  the  east  nudity  was,  even  in  those  days,  held  to  be  disgraceful, 
while  the  Greeks  thought  nothing  so  beautiful  as  the  naked  human 
body.  The  Hetaira  Phryne  was  summoned  before  the- judges  for  an 
offense  against  religion.  Her  defender,  seeing  that  sentence  was 
about  to  be  pronounced  against  his  client,  suddenly  tore  away  the 
garment  which  covered  her  bosom.  The  artifice  was  successful.  The 
judges  pronounced  her  not  guilty,  being  convinced  that  such  won- 
drous grace  and  beauty  could  only  belong  to  a  favorite  of  Aphrodite. 
"Athen.,"  xiii,  p.  590. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  381 

he  showed  us  a  new  exercise — boxing.  He  refused,  however, 
to  try  his  skill  on  anyone  but  a  slave,  so  Croesus  sent  for  the 
biggest  and  strongest  man  among  the  servants — my  groom, 
Bessus — a  giant  who  can  bring  the  hind  legs  of  a  horse  togethei 
and  hold  them  so  firmly  that  the  creature  trembles  all  over  and 
cannot  stir.  This  big  fellow,  taller  by  a  head  than  Phanes, 
shrugged  his  shoulders  contemptuously  on  hearing  that  he  was 
to  box  with  the  little  foreign  gentleman.  He  felt  quite  sure  of 
victory,  placed  himself  opposite  his  adversary,  and  dealt  him 
a  blow  heavy  enough  to  kill  an  elephant.  Phanes  avoided  it 
cleverly,  in  the  same  moment  hitting  the  giant  with  his  naked 
fist  so  powerfully  under  the  eyes  that  the  blood  streamed  from 
his  nose  and  mouth,  and  the  huge,  uncouth  fellow  fell  on  the 
ground  with  a  yell.  When  they  picked  him  up  his  face  looked 
like  a  pumpkin  of  a  greenish-blue  color.  The  boys  shouted 
with  delight  at  his  discomfiture ;  but  we  admired  the  dexterity 
of  this  Greek,  and  were  especially  glad  to  see  the  king  in  such 
good  spirits;  we  noticed  this  most  when  Phanes  was  singing 
Greek  songs  and  dance-melodies  to  him  accompanied  by  the 
lute. 

"Meanwhile  Kassandane's  blindness  had  been  cured,  and 
this,  of  course,  tended  not  a  little  to  disperse  the  king's  melan- 
choly. 

"In  short,  it  was  a  very  pleasant  time,  and  I  was  just  going  to 
ask  for  Atossa's  hand  in  marriage  when  Phanes  went  off  to 
Arabia,  and  everything  was  changed. 

"No  sooner  had  he  turned  his  back  on  the  gates  of  Babylon 
than  all  the  evil  divs  seemed  to  have  entered  into  the  king.  He 
went  about,  a  moody,  silent  man,  speaking  to  no  one;  and  to 
drown  his  melancholy  would  begin  drinking  quantities  of  the 
strongest  Syrian  wine  at  an  early  hour  in  the  morning  even. 
By  the  evening  he  was  generally  so  intoxicated  that  he  had  to 
be  carried  out  of  the  hall,  and  would  wake  up  next  morning 
with  headache  and  spasms.  In  the  daytime  he  would  wander 
about  as  if  looking  for  something,  and  in  the  night  they  often 
heard  him  calling  Nitetis.  The  physicians  became  very  anxious 
about  his  health,  but  when  they  sent  him  medicine  he  threw  it 
away.  It  was  quite  right  of  Croesus  to  say,  as  he  did  once: 
'Ye  Magi  and  Chaldaeans!  before  trying  to  cure  a  sick  man 
ye  must  discover  the  seat  of  his  disease.  Do  you  know  it  in 
this  case?  No?  Then  I  will  tell  you  what  ails  the  king.  He 


382  _A^  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

has  9u  internal  complaint  and  a  wound.  The  former  is  called 
enr.ui  a::d  *he  latter  is  in  his  heart.  The  Athenian  is  a  good 
remedy  for  the  first,  bu'c  for  the  second  I  know  of  none ;  such 
wound's  either  scar  over  of  themselves  or  the  patient  bleeds  to 
death  inwardly.' 

"  'I  know  of  a  remtdy  for  the  king,  though/  exclaimed 
Otanes,  when  he  heard  these  words.  'We  must  persuade  him 
to  send  for  the  women;  or  at  least  for  my  daughter,  Phaedime, 
back  from  Susa.  Love  is  good  for  dispersing  melancholy,  and 
makes  the  blood  flow  faster.'  We  acknowledged  that  he  was 
right  and  advised  him  to  remind  the  king  of  his  banished  wives. 
He  ventured  to  make  the  proposal  while  we  were  at  supper, 
but  got  such  a  harsh  rebuff  for  his  pains  that  we  all  pitied  him. 
Soon  after  this  Cambyses  sent  one  morning  for  all  the  Mobeds 
and  Chaldaeans  and  commanded  them  to  interpret  a  strange 
dream  which  he  had  had.  In  his  dream  he  had  been  standing 
in  the  midst  of  a  dry  and  barren  plain — barren  as  a  threshing- 
floor — it  did  not  produce  a  single  blade  of  grass.  Displeased 
at  the  desert  aspect  of  the  place,  he  was  just  going  .to  seek 
other  and  more  fruitful  regions  when  Atossa  appeared,  and, 
without  seeing  him,  ran  toward  a  spring  which  welled  up 
through  the  arid  soil  as  if  by  enchantment.  While  he  was  gaz- 
ing in  wonder  at  this  scene  he  noticed  that  wherever  the  foot 
of  his  sister  touched  the  parched  soil,  graceful  terebinths* 
sprang  up,  changing,  as  they  grew,  into  cypresses  whose  tops 
reached  unto  heaven.  As  he  was  going  to  speak  to  Atossa  he 
awoke. 

"The  Mobeds  and  Chaldaeans  consulted  together  and  inter- 
preted the  dream  thus:  Atossa  would  be  successful  in  all  she 
undertook. 

"Cambyses  seemed  satisfied  with  triis  answer,  but,  as  the 
next  night  the  vision  appeared  again,  he  threatened  the  wise 
men  with  death  unless  they  could  give  him  another  and  a 
different  interpretation.  They  pondered  long,  and,  at  last, 
answered  that  Atossa  would  become  a  queen  and  the  mother 
of  mighty  princes. 

"This  answer  really  contented  the  king,  and  he  smiled 
strangely  to  himself  as  he  told  us  his  dream. 

"The  same  day  Kassandane  sent  for  me  and  told  me  to  give 
up  all  thoughts  of  her  daughter  as  I  valued  my  life. 

*The  kings  of  Persia  had  to  eat  a  terebinth  at  their  coronation 
Plutarch,  "Artaxerxes,"  3. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  383 

"Just  as  I  was  leaving  the  queen's  garden  I  saw  Atossa  be- 
hind a  pomegranate  bush.  She  beckoned.  I  went  to  her;  and 
in  that  hour  we  forgot  danger  and  sorrow,  but  said  farewell  to 
each  other  forever.  Now  you  know  all ;  and  now  that  I  have 
given  her  up — now  that  I  know  it  would  be  madness  even  to 
think  of  her  again — I  am  obliged  to  be  very  stern  with  myself, 
lest,  like  the  king,  I  should  fall  into  deep  melancholy  for  the 
sake  of  a  woman.  And  this  is  the  end  of  the  story,  the  close  of 
which  we  were  all  expecting,  when  Atossa,  as  I  lay  under 
sentence  of  death,  sent  me  a  rose,  and  made  me  the  happiest  of 
mortals.  If  I  had  not  betrayed  my  secret  then,  when  we  thought 
our  last  hour  was  near,  it  would  have  gone  with  me  to  my 
grave.  But  what  am  I  talking  about?  I  know  I  can  trust  to 
your  secrecy,  but  pray  don't  look  at  me  so  deplorably.  I  think 
T  am  still  to  be  envied,  for  I  have  had  one  hour  of  enjoyment 
that  would  outweigh  a  century  of  misery.  Thank  you — thank 
you — now  let  me  finish  my  story  as  quickly  as  I  can. 

"Three  days  after  I  had  taken  leave  of  Atossa  I  had  to  marry 
Artystone,  the  daughter  of  Gobryas.  She  is  beautiful  and  would 
make  any  other  man  happy.  The  day  after  the  wedding  the 
Angare  reached  Babylon  with  the  news  of  Bartja's  illness.  My 
mind  was  made  up  at  once ;  I  begged  the  king  to  let  me  go  to 
you.  nurse  you  and  warn  you  of  the  danger  which  threatens 
your  life  in  Egypt — took  leave  of  my  bride,  in  spite  of  all  my 
father-in-law's  protestations,  and  went  off  at  full  speed  with 
Prexaspes,  never  resting  till  I  reached  your  side,  my  dear 
Bartja.  Now  I  shall  go  with  you  and  Zopyrus  to  Egypt,  for 
Gyges  must  accompany  the  ambassador  to  Samos  as  inter- 
preter. This  is  the  king'?  command;  he  has  been  in  better 
spirits  the  last  few  days;  the  inspection  of  the  masses  of  troops 
coming  up  to  Babylon  diverts  him,  besides  which  the  Chaldae- 
ans  have  assured  him  that  the  planet  Adar,*  which  belongs  to 
their  war-god  Chanon,  promises  a  great  victory  to  the  Persian 
arms.  When  do  you  think  you  shall  be  able  to  travel, 
Bartja?" 

"To-morrow,  if  vou  like,"  was  the  answer.  "The  doctors  say 
the  sea  voyage  will  do  me  good,  and  the  journey  by  land  to 
Smyrna  is  very  short." 

"And  I  can  assure  you,"  answered  Zopyrus,  "that  Sappho 
will  cure  you  sooner  than  all  the  doctors  in  the  world." 

*The  planet  Mars.  "Chron.  Pasch.,"  i,  p.  18.  Cedrenus,  "Cbron./' 
I,  p.  29.  Cicero,  "De  Nat,  Deor.,"  ii,  20,  46. 


384  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"Then  we  will  start  in  three  days,"  said  Darius,  after  some 
consideration ;  "we  have  plenty  to  do  before  starting.  Remem- 
ber, we  are  going  into  what  may  almost  be  called  an  enemy's 
country.  I  have  been  thinking  the  matter  over,  and  it  seems 
to  me  that  Bartja  must  pass  for  a  Babylonian  carpet-merchant, 
I  for  his  brother,  and  Zopyrus  for  a  dealer  in  Sardian  red."* 

"Couldn't  we  be  soldiers?"  asked  Zopyrus.  "It's  such  an 
ignominious  thing  to  be  taken  for  cheating  peddlers.  How 
would  it  be,  for  instance,  if  we  passed  ourselves  off  for  Lydian 
soldiers,  escaped  from  punishment,  and  seeking  service  in  the 
Egyptian  army?" 

"That's  not  a  bad  idea,''  said  Bartja,  "and  I  think,  too,  that 
we  look  more  like  soldiers  than  traders." 

"Looks  and  manners  are  no  guide,"  said  Gyges.  "Those 
great  Greek  merchants  and  ship-owners  go  about  as  proudly 
as  if  the  world  belonged  to  them.  But  I  don't  find  Zopyrus' 
proposal  a  bad  one." 

"Then,  so  let  it  be/'  said  Darius,  yielding.  "In  that  case 
Oroetes  must  provide  us  with  the  uniform  of  Lydian  taxi- 
archs."f 

"You'd  better  take  the  splendid  dress  of  the  chiliarchs  at 
once,  I  think,"  cried  Gyges.  "Why,  on  such  young  men  that 
would  excite  suspicion  directly." 

"But  we  can't  appear  as  common  soldiers." 

"No,  but  as  hekatontarchs." 

"All  right,"  said  Zopyrus,  laughing.  "Anything  you  like 
except  a  shop-keeper.  So  in  three  days  we  are  off.  I  am  glad 
I  shall  just  have  time  to  make  sure  of  the  satrap's  little  daughter 
and  to  visit  the  grove  of  Cybele  at  last.  Now,  good-night, 
Bartja;  don't  get  up  too  early.  What  will  Sappho  say  if  you 
come  to  her  with  pale  cheeks?" 


*A  favorite  color  among  the  ancients,  made  from  the  blossoms  of 
the  sandix  tree.    Aristoph.  "Acharn.,"  113. 

tThe  Persian  army  was  decimally  divided.  Each  division  num- 
bered ten  thousand  men,  each  regiment  one  thousand,  each  company 
one  hundred.  The  rank  of  taxiarch  was  similar  to  that  of  captain 
with  us,  a  hekatontarch  commanded  one  hundred,  and  a  chiliarch  one 
thousand  men.  Indeed,  later  the  title  of  chiliarch  betokened  a  very 
high  office  among  the  Persians,  the  holder  of  which  (r'/U^jw)  is 
said  to  have  been  next  in  rank  to  the  kin&v  "Diod.,"  xviii,  48.  Aelian.* 
"Var.  Hist.,"  i,  21. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  385 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


The  sun  of  a  hot  midsummer  day  had  risen  on  Naukratis. 
The  Nile  had  already  begun  to  overflow  its  banks,  and  the 
fields  and  gardens  of  the  Egyptians  were  covered  with  water. 

The  harbor  was  crowded  with  craft  of  all  kinds.  Egyptian 
vessels  were  there,  manned  by  Phoenician  colonists  from  the 
coasts  of  the  Delta,*  and  bringing  fine  woven  goods  from 
Malta,  metals  and  precious  stones  from  Sardinia,  wine  and 
copper  from  Cyprus;  Greek  triremes  laden  with  oil,  wine  and 
mastic-wood;  metal- work  and  woolen  wares  from  Chalcis, 
Phoenician  and  Syrian  craft  with  gayly  colored  sails,  and 
freighted  with  cargoes  of  purple  stuffs,  gems,  spices,  glass- 
work,  carpets,  and  cedar  trees — used  in  Egypt,  where  wood 
was  very  scarce,  for  building  purposes — and  taking  back  gold, 
ivory,  ebony,  brightly  plumaged  tropical  birds,  precious  stones 
and  black  slaves — the  treasures  of  Ethiopia;  but  more  espe- 
cially the  far-famed  Egyptian  corn,  Memphian  chariots,  lace 
from  Sais  and  the  finer  sorts  of  papyrus.  The  time  when 
commerce  was  carried  on  merely  by  barter  was  now,  however, 
long  past,  and  the  merchants  of  Naukratis  not  seldom  paid  for 
their  goods  in  gold  coin  and  carefully  weighedf  silver. 

Large  warehouses  stood  round  the  harbor  of  this  Greek  col- 
ony, and  slightly  built  dwelling-houses,  into  which  the  idle 
mariners  were  lured  by  the  sounds  of  music  and  laughter  and 
the  glances  and  voices  of  painted  and  rouged  damsels4  Slaves, 
both  white  and  colored,  rowers  and  steersmen,  in  various  cos- 
tumes, were  hurrying  hither  and  thither,  while  the  ships'  cap- 

*In  another  place  (Ebers,  "Aegypten,"  p.  127)  we  have  endeavored  to 
prove  that  Phoenician  colonies  existed  on  the  coasts  of  the  Delta. 
Egpto-Phoenician  colonies  can  be  proved  to  have  existed  in  Sardinia, 
Crete,  Malta,  Cyprus  and  in  earlier  times  in  Euboea  and  other  places. 
The  discoveries  which  have  been  made  in  Sardinia  are  most  instruct- 
ive. Communicated  by  Canonicus  Spano,  Lamarmora,  Neigebaur,  in 
Gerhard's  "Archaol.  Zeitung,"  in  the  Bulletino  Sardo,  and  the  latest 
by  H.  v.  Malzan. 

tSee  note  pp.  111-112. 

tSetting  aside  the  fact  that  no  large  seaport  of  the  ancient  world 
was  without  such  houses  of  amusement,  those  on  the  canopic  mouth 
of  the  Nile  are  expressly  mentioned  by  "Strabo,"  801. 


J586  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

tains,  either  dressed  in  the  Greek  fashion  or  in  Phoenician 
garments  of  the  most  glaring  colors,  were  shouting  orders  to 
their  crews  and  delivering  up  their  cargoes  to  the  merchants. 
Whenever  a  dispute  arose,  the  Egyptian  police,  with  their  long 
staves,  and  the  Greek  warders  of  the  harbor  were  quickly  at 
hand.  The  latter  were  appointed  by  the  elders  of  the  merchant- 
body  in  this  Milesian  colony.* 

The  port  was  getting  empty  now,  for  the  hour  at  which  the 
market  opened  was  near,f  and  none  of  the  free  Greeks  cared 
to  be  absent  from  the  market-place  then.  This  time,  however, 
not  a  few  remained  behind,  curiously  watching  a  beautifully 
built  Samian  ship,  the  Okeia,$  with  a  long  prow  like  a  swan's 
neck,  on  the  front  of  which  a  likeness  of  the  goddess  Hera  was 
conspicuous.  It  was  discharging  its  cargo,  but  the  public 
attention  was  more  particularly  attracted  by  three  handsome 
youths,  in  the  dress  of  Lydian  officers,  who  left  the  ship,  fol- 
lowed by  a  number  of  slaves  carrying  chests  and  packages. 

The  handsomest  of  the  three  travelers,  in  whom,  of  course, 
our  readers  recognize  their  young  friends,  Darius,  Bartja  and 
Zopyrus,  spoke  to  one  of  the  harbor-police  and  asked  for  the 
house  of  Theopompus,  the  Milesian,  to  whom  they  were  bound 
on  a  visit. 

Polite  and  ready  to  do  a  service,  like  all  the  Greeks,  tne 
police  functionary  at  once  led  the  way  across  the  market-place 
— where -the  opening  of  business  had  just  been  announced  by 
the  sound  of  a  bell:]: — to'a  handsome  house,  the  property  of  the 
Milesian,  Theopompus,  cne  of  the  most  important  and  re- 
spected men  in  Naukratis. 

The  party,  however,  did  not  succeed  in  crossing  the  market- 
place without  hindrance.  They  found  it  easy  enough  to  evade 
the  importunities  of  impudent  fish-sellers,  and  the  friendly 
invitations  of  butchers,  bakers,  sausage  and  vegetable  sellers, 

*See  note  p.  2. 

tThe  following  little  story  told  by  "Strabo"  (658)  proves  how  eagerly 
the  Greeks  thronged  to  market.  A  flute-player  at  Jasos  was  forsaken 
by  his  audience  the  moment  they  heard  the  sound  of  the  market-bell, 
one  man  alone  remaining  behind.  The  musician  thanked  the  man 
for  not  having  allowed  the  bell  to  distract  his  attention.  "What!" 
cried  the  other,  "has  it  rung  already?"  and  instantly  departed,  too. 

t  O^fia,  "the  swift."  Bockh,  "Staatshaushalt  der  Athener,"  iii,  93. 
Not  only  the  Greek,  but  also  the  Phoenician  ships,  were  ornamented 
with  likenesses  of  the  gods. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  38? 

and  potters.  But,  when  they  reached  the  part  allotted*  to  the 
flower-girls,  Zopyrus  was  so  enchanted  with  the  scene  that  he 
clapped  his  hands  for  joy. 

Three  wonderfully  lovely  girls,  in  white  dresses  of  some  half- 
transparent  material,  with  colored  borders,  were  seated  to- 
gether on  low  stools,  binding  roses,  violets  and  orange-blos- 
soms into  one  long  wreath.  Their  charming  heads  were 
wreathed  with  flowers,  too,  and  looked  very  like  the  lovely  rose- 
buds which  one  of  them,  on  seeing  the  young  men  come  up, 
held  out  to  their  notice. 

"Buy  my  roses,  my  handsome  gentlemen,"  she  said,  in  a 
clear,  melodious  voice,  "to  put  in  your  sweetheart's  hair.'' 

Zopyrus  took  the  flowers,  and,  holding  the  girl's  hand  fast 
in  his  own,  answered:  "I  come  from  a  far  country,  my  lovely 
child,  and  have  no  sweetheart  in  Naukratis  yet;  so  let  me  put 
the  roses  in  your  own  golden  hair,  and  this  piece  of  gold  in  your 
white  little  hand." 

The  girl  burst  into  a  merry  laugh,  showed  her  sister  the 
handsome  present,f  and  answered:  "By  Eros,  such  gentlemen 
as  you  cannot  want  for  sweethearts.  Are  you  brothers?" 

"No." 

"That's  a  pity,  for  we  are  sisters." 

"And  you  thought  we  would  make  three  pretty  couples?" 

"I  may  have  thought  it,  but  did  not  say  so." 

"And  your  sisters?" 

The  girls  laughed,  as  if  they  were  but  little  averse  to  such  a 
connection,  and  offered  Bartja  and  Darius  rosebuds,  too. 

The  young  men  accepted  them,  gave  each  a  gold  piece  in 
return,  and  were  not  allowed  to  leave  these  beauties  until  their 
helmets  had  been  crowned  with  laurel. 

Meanwhile,  the  news  of  the  strangers'  remarkable  liberality 
had  spread  among  the  many  girls  who  were  selling  ribbons, 


*Separate  portions  of  the  market  (  x^X^01  )  were  set  a*>art  for  the 
sale  of  different  goods.  The  part  appointed  for  the  flower-sellers,  who 
passed  in  general  for  no  better  than  they  should  be,  was  called  the 
"myrtle-market."  Aristoph.,  "Thesmoph.,"  448.  Becker,  "Charikles," 
ii,  p.  156. 

tA  piece  of  gold  was  very  high  payment.  In  the  Acharnae  of  Aris- 
tophanes the  slave  of  Lamachus  is  supposed  to  offer  an  absurdly  high 
price  when  he  is  willing  to  pay  three  drachmae  (two  shillings  three 
pence)  for  a  fat  eel  from  Kopai,  and  one  drachma  (ninepence)  for  a 
brace  of  fieldfares. 


388  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

wreaths  and  flowers  close  by.  They  all  brought  roses,  too,  and 
invited  the  strangers  with  looks  and  words  to  stay  with  them 
and  buy  their  flowers. 

Zopyrus,  like  many  a  young  gentleman  in  Naukratis,  would 
gladly  have  accepted  their  invitations,  for  most  of  these  girls 
were  beautiful,  and  their  hearts  were  not  difficult  to  win;  but 
Darius  urged  him  to  come  away,  and  begged  Bartja  to  forbid 
the  thoughtless  fellow's  staying  any  longer.  After  passing  the 
tables  of  the  money-changers  and  the  stone  seats  on  which  the 
citizens  sat  in  the  open  air  and  held  their  consultations,  they 
arrived  at  the  house  of  Theopompus. 

The  stroke  given  by  the  Greek  guide  with  the  metal 
knocker  on  the  house-door  was  answered  at  once  by  a  slave. 
As  the  master  was  at  the  market,  the  strangers  were  led  by  the 
steward,  an  old  servant  grown  gray  in  the  service  of  Theo- 
pompus, into  the  Andronitis,*  and  begged  to  wait  there  until 
he  returned. 

They  were  still  engaged  in  admiring  the  paintings  on  the 
walls  and  the  artistic  carving  of  the  stone  floor,  when  Theo- 
pompus, the  merchant  whom  we  first  learned  to  know  at  the 
house  of  Rhodopis,  came  back  from  the  market,  followed  by  a 
great  number  of  slaves  bearing  his  purchases. f 

He  received  the  strangers  with  charming  politeness,  and 
asked  in  what  way  he  could  be  of  use  to  them,  on  which  Bartja, 
having  first  convinced  himself  that  no  unwished-for  listeners 
were  present,  gave  him  the  roll  he  had  received  from  Phanes 
at  parting. 

Theopompus  had  scarcely  read  its  contents  when  he  made 
a  low  bow  to  the  prince,  exclaiming:  "By  Zeus,  the  father  of 
hospitality,  this  is  the  greatest  honor  that  could  have  been  con- 
ferred upon  my  house !  All  I  possess  is  yours,  and  I  beg  you 
to  ask  your  companions'  to  accept  with  kindness  what  I  can 
offer.  Pardon  my  not  having  recognized  you  at  once  in  your 
Lydian 'dress.  It  seems  to  me  that  your  hair  is  shorter  and 
your  beard  thicker  than  when  you  left  Egypt.  Am  I  right  in 
imagining  that  you  do  not  wish  to  be  recognized?  It  shall  be 

*See  note  p.  15.    The  description  of  Rhodopis'  house. 

fMen  of  high  rank  among  the  Greeks  did  not  disdain  to  make  pur- 
chases at  market,  accompanied  by  their  slaves,  but  respectable  women 
could  not  appear  there.  Female  slaves  were  generally  sent  to  buy 
what  was  needed.  Becker,  "Charikles,"  ii,  p.  150. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS  389 

exactly  as  you  wish.  He  is  the  best  host  who  allows  his  guests 
the  most  freedom.  Ah,  now,  I  recognize  your  friends;  but 
they  have  disguised  themselves  and  cut  their  curls  also.  In- 
deed, I  could  almost  say  that  you,  my  friend,  whose  name " 

"My  name  is  Darius." 

"That  you,  Darius,  have  dyed  your  hair  black.  Yes?  Then 
you  see  my  memory  does  not  deceive  me.  But  that  is  nothing 
to  boast  of,  for  I  saw  you  several  times  at  Sais,  and  here,  too, 
on  your  arrival  and  departure.  You  ask,  my  prince,  -whether 
you  would  be  generally  recognized?  Certainly  not.  The  for- 
eign dress,  the  change  in  your  hair,  and  the  coloring  of  your 
eyebrows  have  altered  you  wonderfully.  But  excuse  me  for 
a  moment;  my  old  steward  seems  to  have  some  important 
message  to  give." 

In  a  few  minutes  Theopompus  came  back,  exclaiming:  "No, 
no,  my  honored  friends,  you  have  certainly  not  taken  the  wisest 
way  of  entering  Naukratis  incognito.  You  have  been  joking 
with  the  flower-girls  and  paying  them  for  a  few  roses,  not  like 
runaway  Lydian  hekatontarchs,  but  like  the  great  lords  you 
really  are.  All  Naukratis  knows  the  pretty,  frivolous  sisters, 
Stephanion,  Chloris  and  Irene,  whose  garlands  have  caught, 
many  a  heart,  and  whose  sweet  glances  have  lured  many  a 
bright  obolus  out  of  the  pockets  of  our  gay  young  men. 
They're  very  fond  of  visiting  the  flower-girls  at  market-time 
and  agreements  are  entered  into  then  for  which  more  than 
one  gold  piece  must  be  paid  later;  but  for  a  few  roses  and 
good  words  they  are  not  accustomed  to  be  so  liberal  as  you 
have  been.  The  girls  have  been  boasting  about  you  and  your 
gifts  and  showing  your  good  red  gold  to  their  stingier  suitors. 
As  rumor  is  a  goddess  who  is  very  apt  to  exaggerate  and  to 
make  a  crocodile  out  of  a  lizard,  it  happened  that  news  reached 
the  Egyptian  captain  on  guard  at  the  market  that  some  newly 
arrived  Lydian  warriors  had  been  scattering  gold  broadcast 
among  the  flower-girls.  This  excited  suspicion  and  induced 
the  toparch*  to  send  an  officer  here  to  inquire  from  whence 
you  came  and  what  is  the  object  of  your  journey  hither.  I  was 
obliged  to  use.a  little  stratagem  to  impose  upon  him,  and  told 
him,  as  I  believe  you  wish,  that  you  were  rich  young  men  from 
Sardis  who  had  fled  on  account  of  having  incurred  the  satrap's 

*See  note  pp.  82-83. 


390  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

ill-will.  But  I  see  the  government  officer  coming,  and  with 
him  the  secretary  who  is  to  make  out  passports  which  will 
enable  you  to  remain  on  the  Nile  unmolested.  I  have  prom- 
ised him  a  handsome  reward  if  he  can  help  you  in  getting  ad- 
mitted into  the  king's  mercenaries.  He  was  caught  and  be- 
lieved my  story.  You  are  so  young  that  nobody  would  imagine 
you  were  intrusted  with  a  secret  mission." 

The  talkative  Greek  had  scarcely  finished  speaking  when 
the  clerk,  a  lean,  dry-looking  man,  dressed  in  white,  came  in, 
placed  himself  opposite  the  strangers  and  asked  them  from 
whence  they  came  and  what  was  the  object  of  their  journey. 

The  youths  held  to  their  first  assertion,  that  they  were  Lydian 
hekatontarchs,  and  begged  the  functionary  to  provide  them 
with  passes  and  tell  them  in  what  way  they  might  most  easily 
obtain  admittance  into  the  king's  troop  of  auxiliaries. 

The  man  did  not  hesitate  long  after  Theopompus  had  under- 
taken to  be  their  surety,  and  the  desired  documents  were  made 
out. 

Bartja's  pass  ran  thus: 

"Smerdis,  the  son  of  Sandon,  of  Sardis,  about  twenty-two 
years  of  age;  figure,  tall  and  slender;  face,  well  formed;  nose, 
straight;  forehead,  high,  with  a  small  scar  in  the  middle,  is 
hereby  permitted  to  remain  in  those  parts  of  Egypt  in  which 
the  law  allows  foreigners  to  reside,  as  surety  has  been  given 
for  him. 

"In  the  king's  name.  SACHONS,  Clerk." 

Darius  and  Zopyrus  received  passports  similarly  worded.* 
When  the  government  officials  had  left  the  house  Theopom- 
pus rubbed  his  hands  and  said:  "Now,  if  you  will  follow  my 
advice  on  all  points  you  can  stay  in  Egypt  safely  enough. 
Keep  these  little  rolls  as  if  they  were  the  apple  of  your  eye,  and 
never  part  from  them.  Now,  however,  I  must  beg  of  you  to  fol- 
low me  to  breakfast  and  to  tell  me,  if  agreeable  to  you,  whether 
a  report  which  has  just  been  making  the  round  of  the  market 
is  nof,  as  usual,  entirely  false.  A  trireme  from  Kolophon, 
namely,  has  brought  the  news  that  your  powerful  brother, 
nobie  Bartja,  is  preparing  to  make  war  with  Amasis." 

*Similar  descriptions  have  been  preserved  in  the  papyri.  Wilkin- 
son, in  his  "Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians,"  gives  a 
picture  from  Thebes  in  which  a  man,  making  obeisance,  is  being  led 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  391 

On  the  evening  of  the  same  day  Bartja  and  Sappho  saw  each 
other  again.  In  that  first  hour  surprise  and  joy  together  made 
Sappho's  happiness  too  great  for  words.  When  they  were 
once  more  seated  in  the  acanthus-grove,  whose  blossoming 
branches  had  so  often  seen  and  sheltered  their  young  love,  she 
embraced  him  tenderly,  but  for  a  long  time  they  did  not  speak 
one  word.  They  saw  neither  moon  nor  stars  moving  silently 
above  them  in  the  warm  summer  night;  they  did  not  even  hear 
the  nightingales,  who  were  still  repeating  their  favorite,  flute- 
like  Itys  call  to  one  another;  nor  did  they  feel  the  dew,  which 
fell  as  heavily  on  their  fair  heads  as  on  the  flowers  in  the  grass 
around  them. 

At  last  Bartja,  taking  both  of  Sappho's  hands  in  his  own, 
looked  long  and  silently  into  her  face,  as  if  to  stamp  her  likeness 
forever  on  his  memory.  When  he  spoke,  at  last,  she  cast  down 
her  eyes,  for  he  said:  "In  my  dreams,  Sappho,  you  have  always 
been  the  most  lovely  creature  that  Auramazda  ever  created, 
but,  now  I  see  you  again,  you  are  more  lovely  even  than  my 
dreams." 

And  when  a  bright,  happy  glance  from  her  had  thanked 
him  for  these  words,  he  drew  her  closer  to  him,  asking:  "Do 
you  often  think  of  me?" 

"I  thought  only  of  you." 

"And  did  you  hope  to  see  me  soon?" 

"Yes;  hour  after  hour  I  thought,  'now  he  must  be  coming/ 
Sometimes  I  went  into  the  garden  in  the  morning  and  looked 
toward  your  home  in  the  east,  and  a  bird  flew  toward  me  from 
thence  and  I  felt  a  twitching  in  my  right  eyelid;  or,  when  I  was 
putting  my  box  to  rights  and  found  the  laurel  crown  which  I 
put  by  as  a  remembrance,  because  you  looked  so  well  in  it — 
Melitta  says  such  wreaths  are  good  for  keeping  true  love*- 
then  I  used  to  clap  my  hands  with  joy  and  think:  'to-day  he 
must  come ;'  and  I  would  run  down  to  the  Nile  and  wave  my 
handkerchief  to  every  passing  boat;  for  every  boat  I  thought 
must  be  bringing  you  to  me.  But  you  did  not  come,  and  then 
I  went  sadly  home  and  would  sit  down  by  the  fire  on  the  hearth 

before  another,  a  clerk  or  secretary,  who  appears  to  be  making  out  a 
passport  for  him. 

*A  bird  flying  from  the  right  side  and  a  twitching  of  the  right  eye 
were  considered  fortunate  omens.  "Theocritus,"  iii,  37.  The  wreath 
put  by.  See  Lucien.,  "fTox.,"  30. 


392  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

in  the  women's  room  and  sing  and  gaze  into  the  fire  until 
grandmother  would  wake  me  out  of  my  dream  by  saying: 
'Listen  to  me,  girl;  whoever  dreams  by  daylight  is  in  danger 
of  lying  awake  at  night,  and  getting  up  in  the  morning  with  a 
sad  heart,  a  tired  brain  and  weary  limbs.  The  day  was  not 
given  us  for  sleep,  and  we  must  live  in  it  with  open  eyes,  that 
not  a  single  hour  may  be  idly  spent.  The  past  belongs  to  the 
dead ;  only  fools  count  upon  the  future ;  but  wise  men  hold  fast 
by  the  ever-young  present;  by  work  they  foster  all  the  various 
gifts  which  Zeus,  Apollo,  Pallas,  Cypris  lend;  by  work  they 
raise,  and  perfect  and  ennoble  them,  until  their  feelings, 
actions,  words  and  thoughts  become  harmonious  like  a  well- 
tuned  lute.  You  cannot  serve  the  man  to  whom  you  have 
given  your  whole  heart — to  whom  in  your  great  love  you  look 
up  as  much  higher  than  yourself — you  cannot  prove  the 
steadfastness  and  faithfulness  of  that  love  better  than  by  rais- 
ing and  improving  your  mind  to  the  utmost  of  your  power. 
Every  good  and.  beautiful  truth  that  you  learn  is  an  offering 
to  him  you  love  best,  for  in  giving  your  whole  self,  you  give 
your  virtues,  too.  But  no  one  gains  this  victory  in  dreams. 
The  dew  by  which  such  blossoms  are  nourished  is  called  the 
sweat  of  man's  brow.'  So  she  would  speak  to  me,  and  then  I 
started  up  ashamed  and  left  the  hearth,  and  either  took  my 
lyre  to  learn  new  songs  or  listened  to  my  loving  teacher's  words 
— she  is  wiser  than  most  men — attentively  and  still.  And  so 
the  time  passed  on;  a  rapid  stream,  just  like  our  river  Nile, 
which  flows  unceasingly  and  brings  such  changing  scenes  upon 
its  waves — sometimes  a  golden  boat  with  streamers  gay — 
sometimes  a  fearful,  ravenous  crocodile." 

"But,  now,  we  are  sitting  in  the  golden  boat.  Oh,  if  time's 
wave  would  only  cease  to  flow !  if  this  one  moment  could  but 
last  for  aye.  You  lovely  girl,  how  perfectly  you  speak — how 
well  you  understand  and  remember  all  this  beautiful  teaching 
and  make  it  even  more  beautiful  by  your  way  of  repeating  it. 
Yes,  Sappho,  I  am  very  proud  of  you.  In  you  I  have  a  treas'ure 
which  makes  me  richer  than  my  brother,  though  half  the  world 
belongs  to  him." 

"You  proud  of  me?  you,  a  king's  son,  the  best  and  hand- 
somest of  your  family?" 

"The  greatest  worth  that  I  can  find  in  myself  is  that  you 
think  me  worthv  of  vour  love." 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  39? 

"Tell  me,  ye  gods,  how  can  this  little  heart  hold  so  much  joy 
without  breaking?  Tis  like  a  vase  that's  overfilled  with  purest, 
heaviest  gold." 

"Another  heart  will  help  you  to  bear  it;  and  that  is  my 
own,  for  mine  is  again  supported -by  yours,  and  with  that 
help  I  can  laugh  at  every  evil  that  the  world  or  night  may 
bring." 

"Oh,  don't  excite  the  envy  of  the  gods;  human  happiness 
often  vexes  them.  Since  you  left  us  we  have  passed  some  very, 
very  sad  days.  The  two  poor  children  of  our  kind  Phanes— a 
boy  as  beautiful  as  Eros,  and  a  little  girl  as'fair  and  rosy  as  a 
summer  morning's  cloud  just  lit  up  by  the  sun — came  for  some 
happy  days  to  stay  with  us.  Grandmother  grew  quite  glad 
and  young  again  while  looking  on  these  little  ones,  and  as  for 
me  I  gave  them  all  my  heart,  though  really  it  is  yours,  and 
yours  alone.  But  hearts,  you  know,  are  wonderfully  made; 
they're  like  the  sun  who  sends  his  rays  everywhere,  and  loses 
neither  warmth  nor  light  by  giving  much,  but  gives  to  all  their 
due.  I  loved  those  little  ones  so  very  much.  One  evening  we 
were  sitting  quite  alone  with  Theopompus  in  the  women's 
room,  when  suddenly  we  heard  a  loud,  wild  noise.  The  good 
old  Knakias,  our  faithful  slave,  just  reached  the  door  as  all  the 
bolts  gave  way,  and,  rushing  through  the  entrance-hall  into  the 
peristyle,  the  andronitis,  and  so  on  to  us,  crashing  the  door 
between,  came  a  troop  of  soldiers.  Grandmother  showed  them 
the  letter  by  which  Amasis  secured  our  house  from  all  attack 
and  made  it  a  sure  refuge,  but  they  laughed  the  writing  to  scorn 
and  showed  us  on  their  side  a  document  with  the  crown-prince's 
seal,  in  which  we  were  sternly  commanded  to  deliver  up 
Phanes'  children  at  once  to  this  rough  troop  of  men.  Theo- 
pompus reproved  the  soldiers  for  their  roughness,  telling  them 
that  the  children  came  from  Corinth  and  had  no  connection 
with  Phanes ;  but  the  captain  of  the  troop  defied  and  sneered 
at  him,  pushed  my  grandmother  rudely  away,  forced  his  way 
into  her  own  apartment,  where,  among  her  most  precious 
treasures,  at  the  head  of  her  own  bed,  the  two  children  lay 
sleeping  peacefully,  dragged  them  out  of  their  little  beds,  and 
took  them  in  an  open  boat  through  the  cold  night  air  to  the 
royal  city.  In  a  few  days  we  heard  the  boy  was  dead.  They 
say  he  has  been  killed  by  Psamtik's  orders;  and  the  little  girl, 
so  sweet  and  clear,  is  lying  in  a  dismal  dungeon,  and  pining  for 


394  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

her  father  and  for  us.  Oh,  dearest,  isn't  it  a  painful  thing  that 
sorrows  such  as  these  should  come  to  mar  our  perfect  happi- 
ness? My  eyes  weep  joy  and  sorrow  in  the  same  moment,  and 
my  lips,  which  have  just  been  laughing  with  you,  have  now  to 
tell  you  this  sad  story." 

"I  feel  your  pain  with  you,  my  child,  but  it  makes  my  hand 
clinch  with  rage  instead  of  filling  my  eyes  with  tears.  That 
gentle  boy  whom  you  loved,  that  little  girl  who  now  sits  weep- 
ing in  the  dark  dungeon,  shall  both  be  avenged.  Trust  me; 
before  the  Nile  has  risen  again  a  powerful  army  will  have- 
entered  Egypt  to  demand  satisfaction  for  this  murder." 

"Oh,  dearest,  how  your  eyes  are  glowing!  I  never  saw  you 
look  so  beautiful  before.  Yes,  yes,  the  boy  must  be  avenged, 
and  none  but  you  must  be  his  avenger." 

"My  gentle  Sappho  is  becoming  warlike,  too." 

"Yes,  women  must  feel  warlike  when  wickedness  is  so  tri- 
umphant; women  rejoice,  too,  when  such  crimes  are  punished. 
Tell  me  has  war  been  declared  already?" 

"Not  yet;  but  hosts  on  hosts  are  marching  to  the  valley  of 
the  Euphrates  to  join  our  main  army." 

"My  courage  sinks  as  quickly  as  it  rose.  I  tremble  at  the 
word,  the  mere  word,  war.  How  many  childless  mothers  Ares 
makes,  how  many  young  fair  heads  must  wear  the  widow's 
veil,  how  many  pillows  are  wet  through  with  tears  when  Pallas 
takes  her  shield." 

"But  a  man  develops  in  war;  his  heart  expands,  his  arm 
grows  strong.  And  none  rejoice  more  than  you  when  he  re- 
turns a  conqueror  from  the  field.  The  wife  of  a  Persian  espe- 
cially ought  to  rejoice  in  the  thought  of  battle,  for  her  hus- 
band's honor  and  fame  are  dearer  to  her  than  his  life." 

"Go  to  the  war.    I  shall  pray  for  you  there." 

"And  victory  will  be  with  the  right.  First  we  will  conquer 
Pharaoh's  host,  then  release  Phanes'  little  daughter — 

"And  then  Aristomachus,  the  brave  old  man  who  succeeded 
Phanes  when  he  fled.  He  has  vanished,  no  one  knows 
whither,  but  people  say  that  the  crown-prince  has  either  impris- 
oned him  in  a  dismal  dungeon  on  account  of  his  having  uttered 
threats  of  retaliating  the  cruelty  shown  to  Phanes'  children,  or 
— what  would  be  worse — has  had  -him  dragged  off  to  some  dis- 
tant quarry.  The  poor  old  man  was  exiled  from  his  home  not 
for  his  own  fault,  but  by  the  malice  of  his  enemies,  and  the  very 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  395 

day  on  which  we  lost  sight  of  him  an  embassy  arrived  here  from 
the  Spartan  people  recalling  Aristomachus  to  the  Eurotas  with 
all  the  honors  Greece  could  bestow,  because  his  sons  had 
brought  great  glory  to  their  country.  A  ship  wreathed  with 
flowers  was  sent  to  fetch  the  honored  old  man,  and  at  the  head 
of  the  deputation  was  his  own  brave,  strong  son,  now  crowned 
with  glory  and  fame." 

"I  know  him.  He's  a  man  of  iron.  Once  he  mutilated  him- 
self cruelly  to  avoid  disgrace.  By  the  Anahita  star*  which  is 
setting  so  beautifully  in  the  east,  he  shall  be  avenged." 

"Oh,  can  it  be  so  late?  To  me  the  time  has  gone  by  like  a 
sweet  breeze  which  kissed  my  forehead  and  passed  away.  Did 
not  you  hear  someone  call?  They  will  be  waiting  for  us,  and 
you  must  be  at  your  friend's  house  in  the  town  before  dawn. 
Good-night,  my  brave  hero." 

"Good-by,  my  dearest  one.  In  five  days  we  shall  hear  our 
marriage  hymn.  But  you  tremble  as  if  we  were  going  to  battle 
instead  of  to  our  wedding." 

"I'm  trembling  at  the  greatness  of  our  joy;  one  always 
trembles  in  expectation  of  anything  unusually  great." 

"Hark !  Rhodopis  is  calling  again ;  let  us  go.  I  have  asked 
Theopompus  to  arrange  everything  about  our  wedding  with 
her  according  to  the  usual  custom;  and  I  shall  remain  in  his 
house  incognito  until  I  can  carry  you  off  as  my  own  dear  wife." 

"And  I  will  go  with  you." 


The  next  morning,  as  the  three  friends  were  walking  with 
their  host  in  the  garden,  Zopyrus  exclaimed:  "Why,  Bartja, 
I've  been  dreaming  all  night  of  your  Sappho.  What  a  lucky 
fellow  you  are!  Why,  I  fancied  my  new  wife  in  Sardis  was 
no  end  of  a  beauty  until  I  saw  Sappho,  and  now  when  I  think 
of  her  she  seems  like  an  owl.  If  Araspes  could  see  Sappho  he 
would  be  obliged  to  confess  that  even  Panthea  had  been  out- 
done at  last.  Such  a  creature  was  never  made  before.  Aura- 
mazda  is  an  awful  spendthrift;  he  might  have  made  three 
beauties  out  of  Sappho.  And  how  charmingly  it  sounded  when 
she  said  'good-night'  to  us  in  Persian-" 

*See  note  p.  370, 


396  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"While  I  was  away,"  said  Bartja,  "she  has  been  taking  a 
great  deal  of  trouble  to  learn  Persian  from  the  wife  of  a  Baby- 
lonian carpet  merchant,  a  native  of  Susa  who  is  living  in  Nau- 
kratis,  in  order  to  surprise  me." 

"Yes,  she  is  a  glorious  girl,"  said  Theopompus.  "My  late 
wife  loved  the  little  one  as  if  she  had  been  her  own  child.  She 
would  have  liked  to  have  had  her  as  a  wife  for  our  son  who 
manages  the  affairs  of  my  house  at  Miletus,  but  the  gods  have 
ordained  otherwise!  Ah,  how  glad  she  would  have  been  to 
see  the  wedding  garland  at  Rhodopis'  door!" 

"Is  it  the  custom  here  to  ornament  the  bride's  house  with 
flowers?"  said  Zopyrus. 

"Certainly,"  answered  Theopompus.  "When  you  see  a  door 
hung  with  flowers  you  may  always  know  that  house  contains  a 
bride;  an  olive  branch  is  a  sign  that  a  boy  has  just  come  into 
the  world,  and  a  strip  of  woolen  cloth  hanging  over  the  gate 
that  a  girl  has  been  born ;  but  a  vessel  of  water  before  the  door 
is  a  token  of  death.*  But  business-hour  at  the  market  is  very 
near,  my  friends,  and  I  must  leave  you,  as  I  have  affairs  of 
great  importance  to  transact." 

"I  will  accompany  you,"  said  Zopyrus;  "I  want  to  order 
some  garlands  for  Rhodopis'  house." 

"Aha,"  laughed  the  Milesian.  "I  see,  you  want  to  talk  to  the 
flower-girls  again.  Come,  it's  of  no  use  to  deny.  Well,  if  you 
like,  you  can  come  with  me,  but  don't  be  so  generous  as  you 
were  yesterday,  and  don't  forget  that  if  certain  news  of  war 
should  arrive  your  disguise  may  prove  dangerous." 

The  Greek  then  had  his  sandals  fastened  on  by  his  slaves 
and  started  for  the  market,  accompanied  by  Zopyrus.  In  a  few 
hours  he  returned  with  such  a  serious  expression  on  his  usually 
cheerful  face  that  it  was  easy  to  see  something  very  important 
had  happened. 

"I  found  the  whole  town  in  great  agitation,"  he  said,  to  the 
two  friends  who  had  remained  at  home;  "there  is  a  report  that 
Amasis  is  at  the  point  of  death.  We  had  all  met  on  the  place  of 
exchangef  in  order  to  settle  our  business,  and  I  was  on  the 

*Schomann,  "Privatalterthiimer."  Water  before  a  house.  Schol. 
Arist.,  "Nub.,"  v,  837. 

tOn  the  so-called  Adyna  of  the  exchange  the  Greek  wholesale 
merchants  were  accustomed  to  sell  their  wares  by  samples,  Bb'ckh, 
"Staatshaushaltung  der  Athener,"  1,  pp.  84,  85, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  39? 

point  of  selling  all  my  stored  goods  at  such  high  prices  as  to 
secure  me  a  first-rate  profit,  with  which,  when  the  prospect  of 
an  important  war  had  lowered  the  prices  again,  I  could  have 
bought  in  fresh  goods — you  see  it  stands  me  in  good  stead  to 
know  your  royal  brothers  intentions  so  early — when,  suddenly, 
the  toparch  appeared  among  us  and  announced  that  Amasis 
was  not  only  seriously  ill,  but  the  physicians  had  given  up  all 
hope,  and  he  himself  felt  that  he  was  very  near  death.  We 
must  hold  ourselves  in  readiness  for  this  at  any  moment,  and 
for  a  very  serious  change  in  the  face  of  affairs.  The  death  of 
Amasis  is  the  severest  loss  that  could  happen  to  us  Greeks;  he 
was  always  our  friend  and  favored  us  whenever  he  could, 
while  his  son  is  our  avowed  enemy  and  will  do  his  utmost  to 
expel  us  from  the  country.  If  his  father  had  allowed  and  he 
himself  had  not  felt  so  strongly  the  importance  and  value  of 
our  mercenary  troops,  he  would  have  turned  us  hateful  for- 
eigners out  long  ago.  Naukratis  and  its  temples  are  odious 
to  him.  When  Amasis  is  dead  our  town  will  hail  Cambyses' 
army  with  delight,  for  I  have  had  experience  already,  in  my 
native  town  Miletus,  that  you  are  accustomed  to  show  respect 
to  those  who  are  not  Persians  and  to  protect  their  rights." 

"Yes,"  said  Bartja,  "I  will  take  care  that  all  your  ancient 
liberties  shall  be  confirmed  by  my  brother  and  new  ones 
granted  you." 

"Well,  I  only  hope  he  will  soon  be  here,"  exclaimed  the 
Greek,  "for  we  know  that  Psamtik,  as  soon  as  he  possibly  can, 
will  order  our  temples,  which  are  an  abomination  to  him,  to  be 
demolished.  The  building  of  a  place  of  sacrifice  for  the  Greeks 
at  Memphis  has  long  been  put  a  stop  to." 

"But  here,"  said  Darius,  "we  saw  a  number  of  splendid  tem- 
ples as  we  came  up  from  the  harbor." 

"Oh,  yes,  we  have  several.*  Ah,  there  comes  Zopyrus;  the 
slaves  are  carrying  a  perfect  grove  of  garlands  behind  him. 
He's  laughing  so  heartily,  he  must  have  amused  himself  fam- 
ously with  the  flower-girls.  Good-morning,  my  friend.  The  sad 
news  which  fills  all  Naukratis  does  not  seem  to  disturb  you 
much." 

"Oh,  for  anything  I  care,  Amasis  may  go  on  living  a  hun- 
dred years  yet.  But  if  he  dies  now,  people  will  have  something 

*See  note,  p.  2. 


398  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

else  to  do  besides  looking  after  us.  When  do  you  set  off  for 
Rhodopis'  house,  friends?" 

"At  dusk." 

"Then,  please,  ask  her  to  accept  these  flowers  from  me.  I 
never  thought  I  could  have  been  so  taken  by  an  old  woman 
before.  Every  word  she  says  sounds  like  music,  and  though 
she  speaks  so  gravely  and  wisely  it's  as  pleasant  to  the  ear  as  a 
merry  joke.  But  I  shan't  go  with  you  this  time,  Bartja;  I 
should  only  be  in  the  way.  Darius,  what  have  you  made  up 
your  mind  to  do?" 

"I  don't  want  to  lose  one  chance  of  a  conversation  with  Rho- 
dopis." 

"Well,  I  don't  blame  you.  You're  all  for  learning  and  know- 
ing everything,  and  I'm  for  enjoying.  Friends,  what  do  you 
say  to  letting  me  off  this  evening?  You  see " 

"I  know  all  about  it,"  interrupted  Bartja,  laughing;  "you've 
only  seen  the  flower-girls  by  daylight  as  yet,  and  you  would 
like  to  know  how  they  look  by  lamplight." 

"Yes,  that's  it,"  said  Zopyrus,  putting  on  a  grave  face.  "On 
that  point  I  am  quite  as  eager  after  knowledge  as  Darius." 

"Well,  we  wish  you  much  pleasure  with  your  three  sisters." 

"No,  no,  not  all  three,  if  you  please ;  Stephanion,  the  young- 
est, is  my  favorite." 


Morning  had  already  dawned  when  Bartja,  Darius  and  Theo- 
pompus  left  Rhodopis'  house.  Syloson,*  a  Greek  noble  who 
had  been  banished  from  his  native  land  by  his  own  brother, 
Polykrates,  the  tyrant,  had  been  spending  the  evening  with 
them,  and  was  now  returning  in  their  company  to  Naukratis, 
where  he  had  been  living  many  years. 

This  man,  though  an  exile,  was  liberally  supplied  with  mon- 
ey by  his  brother ;  kept  the  most  brilliant  establishment  in  Na'u- 
kratis,  and  was  as  famous  for  his  extravagant  hospitality  as  for 
his  strength  and  cleverness.  Syloson  was  a  very  handsome 
man,  too,  and  so  remarkable  for  the  good  taste  and  splendor 
of  his  dress  that  the  youth  of  Naukratis  prided  themselves  on  the 
cut  and  hang  of  his  robes.  Being  unmarried,  he  spent  many 

*"Herod.,"  iii,  39,  139,  141. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  399 

of  his  evenings  at  Rhodopis'  house,  and  had  been  told  the 
secret  of  her  granddaughter's  betrothal. 

On  that  evening  it  had  been  settled  that  in  four  days  the  mar- 
riage should  be  celebrated  with  the  greatest  privacy.  Bartja 
had  formally  betrothed  himself  to  Sappho  by  eating  a  quince 
with  her,  on  the  same  day  on  which  she  had  offered  sacrifices 
to  Zeus,  Hera,  and  the  other  deities  who  protected  marriage.* 
The  wedding  banquet  was  tc  be  given  at  the  house  of  Theo- 
pompus,  which  was  looked  upon  as  the  bridegroom's."}'  The 
prince's  costly  bridal  presents  had  been  intrusted  to  Rhodopis' 
care,  and  Bartja  had  insisted  on  renouncing  the  paternal  in- 
heritance which  belonged  to  his  bride  and  transferring  it  to 
Rhodopis,  notwithstanding  her  determined  resistance. 

Syloson  accompanied  the  f-riends  to  Rhodopis'  house,  and 
was  just  about  to  leave  them,  when  a  loud  noise  in  the  streets 
broke  the  quiet  stillness  of  the  night,  and  soon  after  a  troop  of 
the  watch  passed  by,  taking  a  man  to  prison.  Their  prisoner 
seemed  highly  indignant,  and  the  less  his  broken  Greek  oaths 
and  his  utterances  in  some  other  totally  unintelligible  language 
were  understood  by  the  Egyptian  guards  the  more  violent  he 
became. 

Directly  Bartja  and  Darius  heard  the  voice  they  ran  up,  and 
recognized  Zopyrus  at  once. 

Syloson  and  Theopompus  stopped  the  guards  and  asked  what 

*Zeus  and  Hera  are  the  only  divinities  mentioned  by  "Diodorus"  (v, 
73)  as  receiving  marriage-offerings.  Plutarch  says  ("Solon,"  20)  that 
the  Athenian  brides  were  bound  by  one  of  Solon's  laws  to  eat  a  quince 
before  the  nuptial  ceremony.  The  quince  (jifaov  xvfiamov)  seems 
in  other  respects  also  to  have  had  significance  for  lovers.  That  a 
period  of  betrothal  existed  among  the  Greeks,  as  with  ourselves,  is 
certain.  As  an  instance  we  need  only  remind  our  readers  of  Sopho- 
cles' Antigone  and  her  betrothal  with  Haemon. 

tSee  Bottiger  "Aldobr.  Hochzeit,"  p.  142,  where  the  nuptial  hymn, 
or  hymenaeus,  is  sung  accompanied  by  the  flute.  It  cannot  be  clearly 
determined  who  carried  the  bridal  torches.  K.  F.  Hermann,  "Privat- 
alterthiimer,"  sec.  31.  It  is  also  uncertain  whether  the  marriage-feast 
was  held  in  the  house  of  the  bride  or  the  bridegroom,  as  passages  can 
be  quoted  to  prove  both.  For  want  of  the  bridegroom's  house  we  have 
been  unable  to  describe  all  the  customs  usual  at  a  marriage,  as,  for 
instance,  the  procession  thither,  when  the  carriage  conveying  the 
bride  was  accompanied  by  a  chorus  singing  the  "carriage-song 
(ap/xdraov  /xtog)  and  preceded  by  female  attendants  carrying  light 
torches. 


400  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

their  captive  had  done.  The  officer  on  duty  recognized  them 
directly;  indeed,  every  child  in  Naukratis  knew  the  Milesian 
merchant  and  the  brother  of  the  tyrant  Polykrates  by  sight;  and 
he  answered  at  once,  with  a  respectful  salutation,  that  the  foreign 
youth  they  were  leading  away  had  been  guilty  of  murder. 

Theopompus  then  took  him  on  one  side  and  endeavored  by 
liberal  promises  to  obtain  the  freedom  of  the  prisoner.  The 
man,  however,  would  concede  nothing  but  a  permission  to  speak 
with  his  captive.  Meanwhile  his  friends  begged  Zopyrus  to  tell 
them  at  once  what  had  happened,  and  heard  the  following  story. 
The  thoughtless  fellow  had  visited  the  flower-girls  at  dusk  and 
remained  till  dawn.  He  had  scarcely  closed  their  house-door 
on  his  way  home,  when  he  found  himself  surrounded  by  a  num- 
ber of  young  men,  who  had  probably  been  lying  in  wait  for  him, 
as  he  had  already  had  a  quarrel  with  one  of  them  who  called 
himself  the  betrothed  lover  of  Stephanion,  on  that  very  morn- 
ing. The  girl  had  told  her  troublesome  admirer  to  leave  her 
flowers  alone,  and  had  thanked  Zopyrus  for  threatening  to  use 
personal  violence  to  the  intruder.  When  the  young  Achaemen- 
ide  found  himself  surrounded,  he  drew  his  sword  and  easily 
dispersed  his  adversaries,  as  they  were  only  armed  with  sticks, 
but  chanced  to  wound  the  jealous  lover,  who  was  more  violent 
than  the  rest,  so  seriously,  that  he  fell  to  the  ground.  Mean- 
while the  watch  had  come  up,  and  as  Zopyrus'  victim  howled 
"thieves"  and  "murder"  incessantly  they  proceeded  to  arrest  the 
offender.  This  was  not  so  easy.  His  blood  was  up,  and,  rush- 
ing on  them  with  his  drawn  sword,  he  had  already  cut  his  way 
through  the  first  troop  when  a  second  came  up.  He  was  not 
to  be  daunted,  attacked  them,  too,  split  the  skull  of  one,  wound- 
ed another  in  the  arm  and  was  taking  aim  for  a  third  blow  when 
he  felt  a  cord  round  his  neck.  It  was  drawn  tighter  and  tighter 
till  at  last  he  could  not  breathe  and  fell  down  insensible.  By  the 
time  he  came  to  his  senses  he  was  bound,  and,  notwithstanding 
all  his  appeals  to  his  pass  and  the  name  of  Theopompus,  was 
forced  to  follow  his  captors. 

When  the  tale  was  finished  the  Milesian  did  not  attempt  to 
conceal  his  strong  disapprobation,  and  told  Zopyrus  that  his 
most  unseasonable  love  of  fighting  might  be  followed  by  the 
saddest  consequences.  After  saying  this,  he  turned  to  the  of- 
ficer and  begged  him  to  accept  his  own  personal  security  for  the 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  401 

prisoner.  The  other,  however,  refused  gravely,  saying  he  might 
forfeit  his  own  life  by  doing  so,  as  a  law  existed  in  Egypt  by 
which  the  concealer  of  a  murder  was  condemned  to  death/1' 
He  must,  he  assured  them,  take  the  culprit  to  Sais  and  deliver 
him  over  to  the  Nomarchf  for  punishment.  "He  has  mur- 
dered an  Egyptian,"  were  his  last  words,  "and  must  therefore 
be  tried  by  an  Egyptian  supreme  court.  In  any  other  case  I 
should  be  delighted  to  render  you  any  service  in  my  power." 

During  this  conversation  Zopyrus  had  been  begging  his 
friends  not  to  take  any  trouble  about  him.  ''By  Mithras!"  he 
cried,  when  Bartja  offered  to  declare  himself  to  the  Egyptians 
as  a  means  of  procuring  his  freedom,  "I  vow-  I'll  stab  myself 
without  a  second  thought  if  you  give  yourselves  up  to  those 
dogs  of  Egyptians.  Why,  the  whole  town  is  talking  about 
the  war  already,  and  do  you  think  that  if  Psamtik  knew  he'd  got 
such  splendid  game  in  his  net  he  would  let  you  loose?  He 
would  keep  you  as  hostages,  of  course.  No,  no,  my  friends. 
Good-by;  may  Auramazda  send  you  his  best  blessings!  and 
don't  quite  forget  the  jovial  Zopyrus,  who  lived  and  died  for 
love  and  war." 

The  captain  of  the  band  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  men, 
gave  the  order  to  march,  and  in  a  few  minutes  Zopyrus  was  out 
of  sight. 


CHAPTER  XXVIL 

According  to  the  law  of  Egypt,  Zopyrus  had  deserved  death. 

As  soon  as  his  friends  heard  this  they  resolved  to  go  to  Sais 
and  try  to  rescue  him  by  stratagem.  Syloson,  who  had  friends 
there  and  could  speak  the  Egyptian  language  well,  offered  to 
help  them. 

Bartja  and  Darius  disguised  themselves  so  completely,  by 
dyeing  their  hair  and  eyebrows  and  wearing  broad-brimmed 

*The  man  who  concealed  a  murder  was  to  be  punished  with  the 
knout  («5«  vcKrri-j-ovaOa/)  and  left  three  days  and  nights  without  food  or 
drink.  "Diod.,"  i,  77. 

fSee  note  pp.  82-83. 


402  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

felt  hats,*  that  they  could  scarcely  recognize  each  other.  Theo- 
pompus  provided  them  with  ordinary  Greek  dresses,  and,  an 
hour  after  Zopyrus'  arrest,  they  met  the  splendidly  got-up  Sylo- 
son  on  the  shore  of  the  Nile,  entered  a  boat  belonging  to  him 
and  manned  by  his  slaves,  and,  after  a  short  sail,  favored  by  the 
wind,  reached  Sais — which  lay  above  the  waters  of  the  inunda- 
tion like  an  island — before  the  burning  midsummer  sun  had 
reached  its  noonday  height. 

They  disembarked  at  a  remote  part  of  the  town  and  walked 
across  the  quarter  appropriated  to  the  artisans.  The  workmen 
were  busy  at  their  calling,  notwithstanding  the  intense  noon- 
day heat.  The  baker's  men  were  at  work,  in  the  open  court  of 
the  bake-house,  kneading  bread — the  coarser  kind  of  dough 
with  the  feet,  the  finer  with  the  hands.  Loaves  of  various  shapes 
were  being  drawn  out  of  the  ovens — round  and  oval  cakes  and 
rolls  in  the  form  of  sheep,  snails  and  hearts.  These  were  laid 
in  baskets  and  the  nimble  baker's  boys  would  put  three,  four, 
or  even  five,  such  baskets  on  their  heads  at  once  and  carry  them 
off  quickly  and  safely  to  the  customers  living  in  other  quarters 
of  the  city.f  A  butcher  was  slaughtering  an  ox  before  his  house, 
the  creature's  legs  having  been  pinioned,  and  his  men  were  busy 
sharpening  their  knives  to  cut  up  a  wild  goat.J  Merry  cobblers§ 
were  calling  out  to  the  passers-by  from  their  stalls;  carpenters, 
tailors,  joiners  and  weavers)}  were  all  there  busy  at  their  various 

"These  felt  hats  (TteTaaof.  petasus)  were  used  as  protection  from 
the  rays  of  the  sun,  first  among  the  Greeks,  later  by  the  Romans,  and, 
as  the  sunlight  of  Egypt  is  especially  dazzling,  must  certainly  have 
been  adopted  by  the  Hellenic  settlers  on  the  Nile.  Almost  all  the 
horsemen  in  the  celebrated  procession  from  the  Parthenon  (now  in 
the  British  museum)  are  represented  with  the  petasus.  It  was  most 
generally  used  as  a  traveling-hat.  A  figure  with  broad-brimmed  hat 
on  his  back  was  meant  to  represent  a  traveler.  Compare  the  way  in 
which  pilgrims  are  represented  in  the  pictures  of  the  middle  ages. 

tThe  life  and  manners  of  the  working  classes  are  often  represented 
on  the  ancient  monuments  and  very  vividly.  See  "Wilkinson,"  vols, 
ii,  iii.  Rosellini,  "Mon.  Civil.,"  T.  41,  etc.  Especially  for  the  bakers, 
see  "Genesis,"  xl,  16.  "Herod.,"  ii,  36.  Ebers,  "Aegypten,"  i,  p.  330. 

JButchers.     "Wilkinson,"  ii,  375. 

§Shoemakers.     "Wilkinson,"  iii,  160. 

1 1  Workers  in  wood.  "Wilkinson,"  iii,  144,  174,  183.  "Weavers,"  iir 
60,  iii,  134,  135.  Rosellini,  "Mon.  Civli.,"  T.  41,  and  following.  Lep- 
sius,  "Denkmaler,"  ii,  126,  from  Benihassan.  In  the  Berlin  museum 
there  are  some  ancient  Egyptian  spindles,  and  in  the  museum  at 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  403 

callings.  The  wives  of  the  work  people  were  going  out  market- 
ing, leading  their  naked  children  by  the  hand,  and  some  sol- 
diers were  loitering  near  a  man  who  was  offering  beer  and  wine 
for  sale.* 

But  our  friends  took  very  little  notice  of  what  was  going  on 
in  the  streets  through  which  they  passed ;  they  followed  Syloson 
in  silence. 

At  the  Greek  guard-house  he  asked  them  to  wait  for  him. 
Syloson,  happening  to  know  the  taxiarch  who  was  on  duty  that 
day,  went  in  and  asked  him  if  he  had  heard  anything  of  a  man 
accused  of  murder  having  been  brought  from  Naukratis  to  Sais 
that  morning. 

"Of  course,"  said  the  Greek.  "It's  not  more  than  hplf  an 
hour  since  he  arrived.  As  they  found  a  purse  full  of  money 
in  his  girdle  they  think  he  must  be  a  Persian  spy.  I  suppose 
you  know  that  Cambyses  is  preparing  for  war  with  Egypt?" 

"Impossible!" 

"No,  no,  it's  a  fact.  The  prince  regent  has  already  received 
information.  A  caravan  of  Arabian  merchants  arrived  yester- 
day at  Pelusium  and  brought  the  news." 

"It  will  prove  as  false  as  their  suspicions  about  this  poor  young 
Lydian.  I  know  him  well  and  am  very  sorry  for  the  poor  fel- 
low. He  belongs  to  one  of  the  richest  families  in  Sardis,  and 
only  ran  away  for  fear  of  the  powerful  satrap  Oroetes,  with 
whom  he  had  had  a  quarrel.  I'll  tell  you  the  particulars  when 
you  come  to  see  me  next  in  Naukratis.  Of  course  you'll  stay 
a  few  days  and  bring  some  friends.  My  brother  has  sent  me 
some  wine  which  beats  everything  I  ever  tasted.  It's  perfect 
nectar,  and  I  confess  I  grudge  offering,  it  to  anyone  who's  not, 
like  you,  a  perfect  judge  in  such  matters." 

Leyden  is  a  beautiful  thread-winder  with  red  thread  still  wound  round 
It,  besides  several  specimens  of  ancient  Egyptian  stuffs. 

*The  Egyptian  beer,  called  by  the  Greeks  (  £{>0o?)  Zythos  (Zythum), 
was  well  known  among  the  ancients  but  not  much  esteemed  by  them. 
It  was  said,  like  wine,  to  have  been  given  to  men  by  Osiris.  "Diod.," 
i,  34.  The  best  was  brewed  in  Pelusium.  "Columella,"  x,  116.  Phin. 
"Hist.  Nat,"  xxii,  82.  This  beer  is  often  mentioned  in  the  ancient 
Egyptian  writings  and  called  "hek."  It  may  be  interesting  to  notice 
that  a  connection  has  been  found  between  Gambrinus  and  Egypt,  the 
earliest  beer-drinking  country.  It  is  said,  namely  in  the  Aventinus, 
"Annal.  Boj.,"  i,  6, 11,  that  Gambrinus  was  the  son  of  Isis.  On  intoxi- 
cation, see  note  p.  77. 


404  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

The  taxiarch's  face  brightened  up  at  these  words  and 
grasping  Syloson's  hand,  he  exclaimed:  "By  the  dog,*  my 
friend,  we  shall  not  wait  to  be  asked  twice;  we'll  come  soon 
enough  and  take  a  good  pull  at  your  wine-skins.  How  would 
it  be  if  you  were  to  ask  Archidice,f  the  three  flower-sisters  and 
a  few  flute-playing  girls  to  supper?" 

"They  shall  all  be  there.  By  the  bye,  that  reminds  me  that 
the  flower-girls  were  the  cause  of  that  poor  young  Lydian's 
imprisonment  Some  jealous  idiot  attacked  him  before  their 
house  with  a  number  of  comrades.  The  hot-brained  young 
fellow  defended  himself— 
.  "And  knocked  the  other  down?" 

"Yes;  so  that  he'll  never  get  up  again." 

"The  boy  must  be  a  good  boxer." 

"He  has  a  sword." 

"So  much  the  better  for  him." 

"No,  so  much  the  worse;  for  his  victim  was  an  Egyptian." 

"That's  a  bad  job.  I  fear  it  can  only  have  an  unfortunate 
end.  A  foreigner  who  kills  an  Egyptian  is  as  sure  of  death 
as  if  he  had  the  rope  already  round  his  neck.|  However,  just 
now  he'll  get  a  few  days'  grace ;  the  priests  are  all  so  busy  pray- 
ing for  the  dying  king  that  they  have  no  time  to  try  criminals." 

"I'd  give  a  great  deal  to  be  able  to  save  that  poor  fellow.  I 
know  his  father." 

"Yes,  and  then,  after  all,  he  only  did  his  duty.  A  man  must 
defend  himself." 

"Do  you  happen  to  know  where  he  is  imprisoned?" 

"Of  course  I  do.  The  great  prison  is  under  repair  and  so  he 
has  been  put  for  the  present  in  the  store-house  between  the  prin- 
cipal guard-house  of  the  Egyptian  bodyguard  and  the  sacred 
grove  of  the  temple  of  Neith.  I  have  only  just  come  home 
from  seeing  them  take  him  there." 

"He  is  strong  and  has  plenty  of  courage;  do  you  think  he 
could  get  away  if  we  helped  him?" 

*See  note  p.  119. 

tA  celebrated  Hetaira  of  Naukratis  mentioned  by  "Herod.,"  ii,  135. 
Flute-playing  girls  were  seldom  missing  at  the  young  Greeks'  drink- 
ing-parties. 

^Criminals  in  Egypt  were  often  hung.    "Genesis,"  xl,  20-23.    Rose) 
lini,  "Mon.  Civ.,"  T.  124. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  405 

"No,  it  would  be  quite  impossible;  he's  in  a  room  two  stories 
high;  the  only  window  looks  into  the  sacred  grove,  and  that, 
you  know,  is  surrounded  by  a  ten-foot  wall,  and  guarded  like  the 
treasury.  There  are  double  sentries  at  every  gate.  There's 
only  one  place  where  it  is  left  unguarded  during  the  inundation 
season,  because,  just  there,  the  water  washes  the  walls.  These 
worshipers  of  animals  are  as  cautious  as  water-wagtails." 

"Well,  it's  a  great  pity,  but  I  suppose  we  must  leave  the  poor 
Sellow  to  his  fate.  Good-by,  Daemones;  don't  forget  my  in- 
vitation." 

The  Samian  left  the  guard-room  and  went  back  directly  to 
the  two  friends  who  were  waiting  impatiently  for  him. 

They  listened  eagerly  to  his  tidings,  and  when  he  had  finished 
his  description  of  the  prison  Darius  exclaimed:  "I  believe  a 
little  courage  will  save  him.  He's  as  nimble  as  a  cat  and  as 
strong  as  a  bear.  I  have  thought  of  a  plan." 

"Let  us  hear  it,"  said  Syloson,  '"and  let  me  give  an  opinion 
as  to  its  practicability." 

"We  will  buy  some  rope-ladders,  some  cord  and  a  good  bow, 
put  all  these  into  our  boat,  and  row  to  the  unguarded  part  of 
the  temple  wall  at  dusk.  You  must,  then,  help  me  to  clamber 
over  it.  I  shall  take  the  things  over  with  me  and  give  the 
eagle's  cry.  Zopyrus  will  know  at  once,  because,  since  we  were 
children  we  have  been  accustomed  to  use  it  when  we  were  riding 
or  hunting  together.  Then  I  shall  shoot  an  arrow,  with  the 
cord  fastened  to  it,  up  into  his  window  (I  never  miss),  tell  him 
to  fasten  a  weight  to  it  and  let  it  down  again  to  me.  I  shall 
then  secure  the  rope-ladder  to  the  cord,  Zopyrus  will  draw  the 
whole  affair  up  again  and  hang  it  on  an  iron  nail — which,  by  the 
bye,  I  must  not  forget  to  send  up  with  the  ladder,  for  who 
knows  whether  he  may  have  such  a  thing  in  his  cell.  He  will 
then  come  down  on  it,  go  quickly  with  me  to  the  part  of  the 
wall  where  you  will  be  waiting  with  the  boat  and  where  there 
must  be  another  rope-ladder,  spring  into  the  boat,  and  there  he 
is — safe !" 

"First-rate,  first-rate!"  cried  Bartja. 

"But  very  dangerous,"  added  Syloson.  "If  we  are  caught  in 
the  sacred  grove,  we  are  certain  to  be  severely  punished.  The 
priests  hold  strange  nightly  festivals  there,  at  which  everyone 
but  the  initiated  is  strictly  forbidden  to  appear.  I  believe,  how- 


406  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

ever,  that  these  take  place  on  the  lake,  and  that  is  at  some  dis- 
tance from  Zopyrus'  prison." 

"So  much  the  better,"  cried  Darius;  "but  now  to  the  main 
point  We  must  send  at  once,  and  ask  Theopompus  to  hire  a 
fast  trireme  for  us,  and  have  it  put  in  sailing  order  at  once. 
The  news  of  Cambyses'  preparations  have  already  reached 
Egypt;  they  take  us  for  spies,  and  will  be  sure  not  to  let  either 
Zopyrus  or  his  deliverers  escape,  if  they  can  help  it.  It  would 
be  a  criminal  rashness  to  expose  ourselves  uselessly  to  danger. 
Bartja,  you  must  take  this  message  yourself,  and  must  marry 
Sappho  this  very  day,  for,  come  what  may,  we  must  leave 
Naukratis  to-morrow.  Don't  contradict  me,  my  friend,  my 
brother!  You  know  our  plan,  and  you  must  see  that  as  only 
one  can  act  in  it,  your  part  would  be  that  of  a  mere  looker-on. 
As  it  was  my  own  idea  I  am  determined  to  carry  it  out  myself. 
We  shall  meet  again  to-morrow,  for  Auramazda  protects  the 
friendship  of  the  pure." 

It  was  a  long  time  before  they  could  persuade  Bartja  to  leave 
his  friends  in  the  lurch,  but  their  entreaties  and  representations 
at  last  took  effect,  and  he  went  down  toward  the  river  to  take 
a  boat  for  Naukratis,  Darius  and  Syloson  going  at  the  same 
time  to  buy  the  necessary  implements  for  their  plan. 

In  order  to  reach  the  place  where  boats  were  to  be  hired 
Bartja  had  to  pass  by  the  temple  of  Neith.  This  was  not  easy, 
as  an  immense  crowd  had  assembled  at  the  entrance  gates.  He 
pushed  his  way  as  far  as  the  obelisks  near  the  great  gate  of 
the  temple  with  its  winged  sun's  disk  and  fluttering  pennons, 
but  there  the  temple-servants  prevented  him  from  going  farther ; 
they  were  keeping  the  avenue  of  sphinxes  clear  for  a  procession.* 
The  gigantic  doors  of  the  Pylon  opened,  and  Bartja,  who,  in 
spite  of  himself,  had  been  pushed  into  the  front  row,  saw  a  bril- 
liant procession  come  out  of  the  temple.  The  unexpected  sight 
of  many  faces  he  had  "formerly  known  occupied  his  attention 
so  much  that  he  scarcely  noticed  the  loss  of  his  broad-brimmed 
hat,  which  had  been  knocked  off  in  the  crowd.  From  the  con- 
versation of  the  two  Ionian  mercenaries  behind  him  he  learned 
that  the  family  of  Amasis  had  been  to  the  temple  to  pray  for  the 
dying  king. 

*See  note  p.  93. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  407 

The  procession  was  headed  by  richly  decorated  priests,  either 
wearing  long  white  robes  or  panther-skins.  They  were  fol- 
lowed by  men  holding  office  at  the  court,  and  carrying  golden 
staves,  on  the  ends  of  which  peacocks'  feathers  and  silver  lotus- 
flowers  were  fastened,  and  these  by  pastophori,*  carrying  on 
their  shoulders  a  golden  cow,  the  animal  sacred  to  I  sis.  When 
the  crowd  bowed  down  before  this  sacred  symbol  the  queen 
appeared.  She  was  dressed  in  priestly  robes  and  wore  a  costly 
head-dress  with  the  winged  disk  and  the  Uraesus.  In  her  left 
hand  she  held  a  sacred  golden  sistrumf  the  tones  of  which  were 
to  scare  away  Typhon,  and  in  her  right  some  lotus-flowers. 
The  wife,  daughter  and  sister  of  the  high-priest  followed  her,  in 
similar  but  less  splendid  ornaments. $  Then  came  the  heir  to 

These  were  priests  whose  duty  it  was  to  carry  the  sacred  animals 
and  representations  of  the  divinities  at  the  religious  processions.  Ac- 
cording to  Clemens  of  Alexandria,  "Strom,"  vi,  663,  and  the  bilingual 
stone  of  Rosetta,  the  priesthood  was  divided  into  high-priests,  proph- 
ets, stolists,  to  whom  were  intrusted  the  pictures  and  statues  of  the 
gods,  the  sacrifices  and  the  office  of  teaching;  those  who  had  a  right  to 
wear  the  feather,  writers  of  the  sacred  mystic  cipher,  hierogramma- 
tists  or  sages  (in  Egyptian  "things  having  knowledge")  to  which  or- 
der belonged  the  astronomers,  astrologers,  soothsayers  and  calendai;- 
makers,  -the  holy  fathers — among"  whom  the  singers  were  reckoned, 
and  those  who  kept  the  precepts  and  rules  of  the  royal  life — and  lastly, 
the  inferior  priests,  namely,  the  pastophori  (bearers  of  the  sacred  pic- 
tures, statues,  and  symbols  in  the  processions),  the  taricheuti,  or  em- 
balmers,  the  neokori,  or  temple-servants,  etc.  For  details  see  Ebers, 
"Aegypten,"  p.  341  and  following. 

tA  musical  instrument  used  in  religious  services  and  often  orna- 
mented with  much  skill  and  art.  It  consisted  of  a  bow  with  bars,  and 
rings  on  the  bars,  which  could  be  sounded  together.  Plutarch  de- 
scribes it  very  exactly  ("Is.and  Os., "63),  says  it  was  used  to  scare  away 
Typhon,  and  that  on  the  rounded  part  of  the  metal  was  the  likeness 
of  a  cat  with  human  features.  His  description  is  confirmed  by  a 
bronze  sistrum  in  the  Berlin  museum,  on  the  bend  of  which  is  a  cat 
with  a  sun-disk  over  its  head.  On  the  handle  of  another  is  a  double 
Isis  mask.  See,  also,  "Wilkinson,"  i,  145.  This  instrument  is  said  to 
have  been  used  in  the  Egyptian  war-music  also  (Virgil,  "Aen.,"  viii, 
696),  but  the  statement  that  it  served  instead  of  the  trumpet  is  incor- 
rect as  we  see  from  the  monuments  that  the  trumpet  was  also  in  use. 
"Prop.,"  iii,  11,  43. 

^Similar  processions  of  women  are  to  be  found  on  the  monuments, 
as,  for  example,  at  Thebes,  where  the  wife  of  Rameses  the  Great  and 
the  mother,  daughter  and  sister  of  a  priest  are  going  up  to  prayer. 
"Wilkinson,"  i,  260.  The  question  whether  these  were  priestesses  or 
not.  has  also  been  decided  in  the  affirmative  by  the  monuments. 


408  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

the  throne,  in  rich  robes  of  state,  as  priest  and  prince;  and 
behind  him  four  young  priests  in  white  carrying  Tachot,  the" 
daughter  of  Amasis  and  Ladice  and  the  pretended  sister  of 
Nitetis,  in  an  open  litter.  The  heat  of  the  day,  and  the  earnest- 
ness of  her  prayers,  had  given  the  sick  girl  a  slight  color.  Her 
blue  eyes,  filled  with  tears,  were  fixed  on  the  sistrum  which 
her  weak,  emaciated  hands  had  hardly  strength  to  hold. 

A  murmur  of  compassion  ran  through  the  crowd;  for  they 
loved  their  dying  king,  and  manifested  openly  and  gladly  the 
sympathy  so  usually  felt  for  young  lives  from  whom  a  brilliant 
future  has  been  snatched  by  disease.  Such  was  Amasis'  young.  • 
fading  daughter  who  was  now  being  carried  past  them,  and 
many  an  eye  grew  dim  as  the  beautiful  invalid  came  in  sight. 
Tachot  seemed  to  notice  this,  for  she  raised  her  eyes  from  the 
sistrum  and  looked  kindly  and  gratefully  at  the  crowd.  Sud- 
denly the  color  left  her  face,  she  turned  deadly  pale,  and  the 
golden  sistrum  fell  onto  the  stone  pavement  with  a  clang,  close 
to  Bartja's  feet.  He  felt  that  he  had  been  recognized  and  for 
one  moment  thought  of  hiding  himself  in  the  crowd;  but  only 
for  one  moment — his  chivalrous  feeling  gained  the  day,  he 
darted  forward,  picked  up  the'sistrum,  and,  forgetting  the  dan- 
ger in  which  he  was  placing  himSelf,  held  it  out  to  the  princess. 

Tachot  looked  at  him  earnestly  before  taking  the  golden 
sistrum  from  his  hands,  and  then  said,  in  a  low  voice,  which 
only  he  could  understand:  "Are  you  Bartja?  Tell  me — in  your 
mother's  name — are  you  Bartja?" 

"Yes,  I  am,"  was  his  answer,  in  a  voice  as  low  as  her  own, 
"your  friend,  Bartja." 

He  could  not  say  more,  for  the  priests  pushed  him  back 
among  the  crowd.  When  he  was  in  his  old  place  he  noticed 
that  Tachot,  whose  bearers  had  begun  to  move  on  again,  was 
looking  round  at  him.  The  color  had  come  back  into  her 
cheeks,  and  her  bright  eyes  were  trying  to  meet  his.  He  did  not 
avoid  them ;  she  threw  him  a  lotus-bud — he  stooped  to  pick  it 
up,  and  then  broke  his  way  through  the  crowd,  for  this  hasty 
act  had  roused  their  attention. 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  he  was  seated  in  a  boat  which  was 
to  take  him  to  Sappho  and  to  his  wedding.  He  was  quite  at 
ease  now  about  Zopyrus.  In  Bartja's  eyes  his  friend  was  al- 
ready as  good  as  saved,  and,  in  spite  of  the  dangers  which 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  409 

threatened  himself,  he  felt  strangely  calm  and  happy,  he  could 
hardly  say  why. 

Meanwhile  the  sick  princess  had  been  carried  home,  had  had 
her  oppressive  ornaments  taken  off,  and  her  couch  carried  onto 
one  of  the  palace  balconies  where  she  liked  best  to  pass  the  hot 
summer  days,  sheltered  by  broad-leaved  plants*  and  a  kind  of 
awning. 

From  this  veranda  she  could  look  down  into  the  great  fore- 
court of  the  palace  which  was  planted  with  trees.  To-day  it 
was  full  of  priests,  courtiers,  generals  and  governors  of  prov- 
inces. Anxiety  and  suspense  were  expressed  in  every  face; 
Amasis'  last  hour  was  drawing  very  near. 

Tachot  could  not  be  seen  from  below;  but,  listening  with 
feverish  eagerness,  she  could  hear  much  that  was  said.  Now 
that  they  had  to  dread  the  loss  of  their  king  everyone,  even  the 
priests,  were  full  of  his  praises.  The  wisdom  and  circumspection 
of  his  plans  and  modes  of  government,  his  unwearied  industry, 
the  moderation  he  had  always  shown,  the  keenness  of  his  wit, 
were,  each  and  all,  subjects  of  admiration.  "How  Egypt  has 
prospered  under  Amasis'  government!"  said  a  Nornarch. 
"And  what  glory  he  gained  for  our  arms  by  the  conquest  of 
Cyprus  and  the  war  with  the  Lybians!"  cried  one  of  the  gen- 
erals. "How  magnificently  he  embellished  our  temples  and 
what  great  honors  he  paid  to  the  goddess  of  Sais!"  exclaimed 
one  of  the  singers  of  Neith.  "And  then  how  gracious  and  con- 
descending he  was!"  murmured  a  courtier.  "How  cleverly  he 
managed  to  keep  peace  with  the  great  powers!"  said  the  secretary 
of  state,  and  the  treasurer,  wiping  away  a  tear,  cried:  "How 
thoroughly  he  understood  the  management  of  the  revenue! 
Since  the  reign  of  Rameses  III  the  treasury  has  not  been  so 
well  filled  as  now."f  "Psamtik  comes  into  a  fine  inheritance," 

""'Wilkinson,"  ii,  121,  129.    From  representations  found  in  Thebes. 

tRhampsinit,  of  whose  treasure-house  "Herodotus"  (ii,  121,  122) 
tells  the  amusing  story  which  has  been  dramatized  by  Count  Platen. 
We  can  hardly  believe  Appian  when  he  says  that  the  treasury  of 
Ptolemy  Philadelphus  contained  seven  hundred  and  forty  thousand 
Egyptian  talents,  for  this,  even  if  we  reckon  the  Egyptian  talent  at 
half  the  value  of  the  Aeginetan,  would  give  the  sum  of  eighty-three 
million  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds  sterling.  Perhaps 
Bockh  ("Staatshaushalt  d.  Ath.,"  i,  p.  14)  is  right  in  his  conjecture  that 
this  sum  represented  the  total  receipts  of  his  reign  of  thirty-eight 


410  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

lisped  the  courtier,  and  the  soldier  exclaimed:  "Yes,  but  it's  to 
be  feared  that  he'll  not  spend  it  in  a  glorious  war;  he's  too 
much  under  the  influence  of  the  priests."  "No,  you  ape  wrong 
there,"  answered  the  temple-singer.  "For  some  time  past  our 
lord  and  master  has  seemed  to  disdain  the  advice  of  his  most 
faithful  servants."  "The  successor  of  such  a  father  will  find  it 
difficult  to  secure  universal  approbation,"  said  the  Nomarch. 
"It  is  not  everyone  who  has  the  intellect,  the  good  fortune  and 
the  wisdom  of  Amasis."  "The  gods  know  that!"  murmured 
the  warrior,  with  a  sigh. 

Tachot's  tears  flowed  fast.  These  words  were  a  confirma- 
tion of  what  they  had  been  trying  to  hide  from  her;  she  was 
to  lose  her  dear  father  soon. 

-  After  she  had  made  this  dreadful  certainty  clear  to  her  own 
mind  and  discovered  that  it  was  in  vain  to  beg  her  attendants  to 
carry  her  to  her  dying  father,  she  left  off  listening  to  the  cour- 
tiers below  and  began  looking  at  the  sistrum  which  Bart j a 
himself  had  put  into  her  hand,  and  which  site  had  brought  onto 
the  balcony  with  her,  as  if  seeking  comfort  there.  And  she 
found  what  she  sought ;  for  it  seemed  to  her  as  if  the  sound  of 
its  sacred  rings  bore  her  away  into  a  smiling,  sunny  landscape. 

The  faintness  which  often  comes  over  people  in  decline  had 
seized  her  and  was  sweetening  her  last  hours  with  pleasant 
dreams. 

The  female  slaves,  who  stood  round  to  fan  away  the  flies,  said 
afterward  that  Tachot  had  never  looked  so  lovely. 

She  had  lain  about  an  hour  in  this  state  when  her  breath- 
ing became  more  difficult,  a  slight  cough  made  her  breast  heave, 
and  the  bright  red  blood  trickled  down  from  her  lips  onto  her 

years.  There  is  said,  however,  to  have  been  an  inscriptibn  on  the 
treasury  of  Rameses  the  Great  (Osymandyas)  to  the  effect  that  the 
gold  and  silver  mines  of  Egypt  yielded  a  yearly  revenue  of  thirty-two 
million  minae,  or  ninety  million  pounds  sterling.  "Diod.,"  i,  49.  Ac- 
cording to  the  same  historian  (i,  62)  the  treasury  of  Rhampsinit  con- 
tained four  million  talents,  which,  reckoning  as  before  in  Egyptian 
talents,  would  give  four  hundred  and  fifty  million  pounds  sterling.  By 
a  fortunate  chance  a  representation  of  this  rich  king's  treasure-house, 
so  celebrated  through  the  before-mentioned  tale,  has  come  down  to  us. 
It  is  in  the  temple  of  Medinet  Haboo  and  has  been  published  by  Dii- 
michen,  in  his  "Historischen  Inschriften  Altagyptischer  Denkmaler," 
taf.  xxx,  and  following.  The  mass  of  treasure  represented  is  really 
enormous  in  gold,  silver,  copper  ond  even  Arabian  spices.  The  pre- 
vious metals  are  stored  in  sacks,  vases  and  heaps;  the  baser  in  bars, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  411 

white  robe.  She  awoke,  and  looked  surprised  and  disappointed 
on  seeing  the  faces  round  her.  The  sight  of  her  mother,  how- 
ever, who  came  onto  the  veranda  at  that  moment,  brought  a 
smile  to  her  face,  and  she  said:  "Oh,  mother,  I  have  had  such 
a  beautiful  dream." 

''Then  our  visit  to  the  temple  has  done  my  dear  child  good?" 
Basked  the  queen,  trembling  at  the  sight  of  blood  on  the  sick 
girl's  lips. 

"Oh,  yes,  mother,  so  much !  for  I  saw  him  again." 

Ladice's  glance  at  the  attendants  seemed  to  ask:  "Has  your 
poor  mistress  lost  her  senses?"  Tachot  understood  the  look 
and  said,  evidently -speaking  with  great  difficulty:  ''You  think 
I  am  wandering,  mother.  No,  indeed,  I  really  saw  and  spoke 
to  him.  He  gave  me  my  sistrum  again,  and  said  he  was  my 
friend  and  then  he  took  my  lotus  bud  and  vanished.  Don't 
look  so  distressed  and  surprised,  mother.  What  I  say  is  really 
true;  it  is  no  dream.  There,  you  hear,  Teutrut  saw  him,  too. 
He  must  have  come  to  Sais  for  my  sake  and  so  the  child  oracle 
in  the  temple  court  did  not  deceive  me,  after  all.  And  now  I 
don't  feel  anything  more  of  my  illness;  I  dreamed  1  was  lying- 
in  a  field  of  blooming  poppies,  as  red  as  the  blood  of  the  young 
lambs  that  are  offered  in  sacrifice ;  Bartja  was  sitting  by  my  side, 
and  Xitetis  was  kneeling  close  to  us  and  playing  wonderful 
songs  on  a  nabla,*  made  of  ivory.  And  there  was  such  a  lovely 
sound  in  the  air  that  I  felt  as  if  Horus,  the  beautiful  god  of 
morning,  spring  and  the  resurrection,  was  kissing  me.  Yes, 
mother,  I  tell  you  he  is  coming  soon,  and  when  I  am  well,  then — 
then — ah,  mother,  what  is  this? — I  am  dying!" 

Ladice  knelt  down  by  her  child's  bed  and  pressed  her  lips  in 
burning  kisses  on  the  girl's  eyes  as  they  grew  dim  in  death. 

An  hour  later  she  was  standing  by  another  bedside — her  dying 
husband's. 

Severe  suffering  had  disfigured  the  king's  features,  the  cold 
perspiration  was  standing  on  his  forehead,  and  his  hands  grasped 
the  golden  lionsf  on  the  arms  of  the  deep-seated  invalid  chair  in 
which  he  was  resting,  almost  convulsively. 

When  Ladice  came  inl  he  opened  his  eyes;  they  were  as  keen 
and  intelligent  as  if  he  had  never  lost  his  sight. 

*An  ancient  Egyptian  stringed  instrument. 

tFrom  Wilkinson  and  Rosellini.    See,  also,  note  p.  77, 


412  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"Why  do  you  not  bring  Tachot  to  me?"  he  asked, "in  a  dry 
voice. 

"She  is  too  ill,  and  suffers  so  much  that — 

"She  is  dead!  Then  it  is  well  with  her,  for  death  is  not  pun- 
ishment; it  is  the  end  and  aim  of  life — the  only  end  that  we  can 
attain  without  effort,  but  through  sufferings!  the  gods  alone 
know  how  great.  Osiris  has  taken  her  to  himself,  for  she  was 
innocent.  And  Nitetis  is  dead,  too.  Where  is  Nebenchari's 
letter?  Here  is  the  place:  'She  took  her  own  life,  and  died 
calling  down  a  heavy  curse  on  thee  and  thine.  The  poor, 
exiled,  scorned  and  plundered  oculist,  Nebenchari,  in  Babylon, 
sends  thee  this  intelligence  to  Egypt.  It  is  as  true  as  his  own 
hatred  of  thee.'  Listen  to  these  words,  Psamtik,  and  remem- 
ber how,  on  his  dying-bed,  thy  father  told  thee  that  for  every 
dram  of  pleasure  purchased  on  earth  by  wrong-doing,  the  dy- 
ing-bed will  be  burdened  by  a  talent's  weight  of  remorse. 
Fearful  misery  is  coming  on  Egypt  for  Nitetis'  sake.  Cambyses 
is  preparing  to  make  war  on  us.  He  will  sweep  down  on  Egypt 
like  a  scorching  wind  from  the  desert.  Much  which  I  have 
staked  my  nightly  sleep  and  the  very  marrow  of  my  existence 
to  bring  into  existence  will  be  annihilated.  Still  I  have  not 
lived  in  vain.  For  forty  years  I  have  been  the  careful  father 
and  benefactor  of  a  great  nation.  Children  and  children's  chil- 
dren will  speak  of  Amasis  as  a  great,  wise  and  humane  king; 
they  will  read  my  name  on  the  great  works  which  I  have  built 
in  vSais  and  Thebes  and  will  praise  the  greatness  of  my  power. 
Neither  shall  I  be  condemned  by  Osiris  and  the  forty-two 
judges  of  the  nether  world ;  the  goddess  of  truth,  who  holds  the 
balances,*  will  find  that  my  good  deeds  outweigh  my  bad." 
Here  the  king  sighed  deeply  and  remained  silent  for  some 
time.  Then,  looking  tenderly  at  his  wife,  he  said:  "Ladice, 
thou  hast  been  a  faithful,  virtuous  wife  to  me.  For  this  I  thank 
thee  and  ask  thy  forgiveness  for  much.  We  have  often  misun- 
derstood one  another.  Indeed,  it  was  easier  for  me  to  accustorn 
myself  to  the  Greek  modes  of  thought  than  for  a  Greek  to 
understand  our  Egyptian  ideas.  Thou  know'st  my  love  of 

*The  goddess  of  truth  was  called  the  "mistress  of  the  balances,"  be- 
cause she  weighed  the  souls  of  the  dead  in  the  lower  world.  This  can 
be  seen  in  the  books  of  the  dead,  in  nearly  all  of  which  the  weighing 
Of  the  soul  is  represented  in  the  largest  vignette, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  413 

Greek  art — thou  know'st  how  I  enjoyed  the  society  of  thy  friend 
Pythagoras,  who  was  thoroughly  initiated  in  all  that  we' believe 
and  know,  and  adopted  much  from  us.  He  comprehended  the 
deep  wisdom  which  lies  in  the  doctrines  that  I  reverence  most, 
and  he  took  care  not  to  speak  lightly  of  truths  which  our  priests 
are  perhaps  too  careful  to  hide  from  the  people;  for  though  the 
many  bow  down  before  that  which  they  cannot  understand, 
they  would  be"  raised  and  upheld  by  those  very  truths,  if  ex- 
plained to  them.  To  a  Greek  mind  our  worship  of  animals 
presents  the  greatest  difficulty,  but  to  my  own  the  worship  of 
the  Creator  in  his  creatures  seems  more  just  and  more  worthy 
of  a  human  being  than  the  worship  of  his  likeness  in  stone. 
The  Greek  deities  are,  moreover,  subject  to  every  human  in- 
firmity ;  indeed,  I  should  have  made  my  queen  very  unhappy  by 
living  in  the  same  manner  as  her  great  God  Zeus." 

At  these  words  the  king  smiled,  and  then  went  on:  "And 
what  has  given  rise  to  this?  The  Hellenic  love  of  beauty  in 
form,  which,  in  the  eye  of  a  Greek,  is  superior  to  everything 
else.  He  cannot  separate  the  body  from  the  soul,  because  he 
holds  it  to  be  the  most  glorious  of  formed  things,  and,  indeed, 
believes  that  a  beautiful  spirit  must  necessarily  inhabit  a  beauti- 
ful body.  Their  gods,  therefore,  are  only  elevated  human 
beings,  but  we  adore  an  unseen  power  working  in  nature  and  in 
ourselves.  The  animal  takes  its  place  between  ourselves  and 
nature;  its  actions  are  guided,  not,  like  our  own,  by  the  letter, 
but  by  the  eternal  laws  of  nature,*  which  owe  their  origin  to  the 
deity,  while  the  letter  is  a  device  of  man's  own  mind.  And 
then,  too,  where  among  ourselves  do  we  find  so  earnest  a  long- 
ing and  endeavor  to  gain  freedom,  the  highest  good,  as  among 
animals?  Where  such  a  regular  and  well-balanced  life  from 
generation  to  generation,  without  instruction  or  precept?" 

Here  the  king's  voice  failed.  He  was  obliged  to  pause  for  a 
few  moments,  and  then  continued:  "I  know  that  my  end  is 
near;  therefore,  enough  of  these  matters.  My  son  and  suc- 
cessor, hear  my  last  wishes  and  act  upon  them;  they  are  the 
result  of  experience. -  But,  alas!  how  often  have  I  seen  that 
rules  of  life  given  by  one  man  to  another  are  useless.  Every 
man  must  earn  his  own  experience.  His  own  losses  make  him 
prudent,  his  own  learning  wise.  Thou,  my  son,  art  coming  to 

*From  Anacharsis  in  "Diodorus." 


414  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

the  throne  at  a  mature  age;  thou  hast  had  time  and  opportunity 
to  judge  between  right  and  wrong,  to  note  what  is  beneficial  and 
what  hurtful;  to  see  and  compare  many  things.  I  give  thee, 
therefore,  only  a  few  wholesome  counsels,  and  only  fear  that, 
though  I  offer  them  with  my  right  hand,  thou  wilt  accept  them 
with  the  left. 

"First,  however,  I  must  say  that,  notwithstanding  my  blind- 
ness, my  indifference  to  what  has  been  going  on  during  the  past 
months  has  been  only  apparent.  I  left  you  to  your  own  devices 
with  a  good  intention.  Rhodopis  told  me  once  one  of  her 
teacher  Aesop's  fables:  'A  traveler,  meeting  a  man  on  his  road, 
asked  him  how  long  it  would  be  before  he  reached  the  nearest 
town.  "Go  on,  go  on,"  cried  the  other.  "But  I  want  to  know 
first  when  I  shall  get  to  the  town."  "Go  on,  only  go  on,"  was 
the  answer.  The  traveler  left  him  with  angry  words  and  abuse ; 
but  he  had  not  gone  many  steps  when  the  man  called  after 
him :  "You  will  be  there  in  an  hour.  I  could  not  answer  your 
question  until  I  had  seen  your  pace." ' 

"I  bore  this  fable  in  mind  for  my  son's  sake  and  watched  in 
silence  at  what  pace  he  was  ruling  his  people.  Now  I  have  dis- 
covered what  I  wish  to  know,  and  this  is  my  advice:  Examine 
into  everything  yourself.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  man,  but  es- 
pecially of  a  king,  to  acquaint  himself  intimately  with  all  that 
concerns  the  weal  or  woe  of  his  people.  You,  my  son,  are  in 
the  habit  of  using  the  eyes  and  ears  of  other  men  instead  of 
going  to  the  fountain-head  yourself.  I  am  sure  that  your  ad- 
visers, the  priests,  only  desire  what  is  good ;  but — Neithotep,  I 
must  beg  you  to  leave  us  alone  for  a  few  moments." 

When  the  priest  was  gone  the  king  exclaimed:  "They  wish 
for  what  is  good,  but  good  only  for  themselves.  But  we  are 
not  kings  of  priests  and  aristocrats  only,  we  are  kings  of  a  na- 
tion. Do  not  listen  to  the  advice  of  this  proud  caste  alone,  but 
read  every  petition  yourself,  and  by  appointing  Nomarchs  de- 
voted to  the  king  and  beloved  by  the  people  make  yourself  ac- 
quainted with  the  needs  and  wishes  of  the  Egyptian  nation.  It 
is  not  difficult  to  govern  well  if  you  are  aware  of  the  state  of 
feeling  in  your  land.  Choose  fit  men  to  fill  the  offices  of  state. 
I  have  taken  care  that  the  kingdom  shall  be  properly  divided. 
The  laws  are  good,  and  have  proved  themselves  so;  hold  fast 
by  these  laws,  and  trust  no  one  who  sets  himself  above  them, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  415 

for  the  law  is  invariably  wiser  than  the  individual  man  and  its 
transgressor  deserves  his  punishment.  The  people  understand 
this  well  and  are  ready  to  sacrifice  themselves  for  us  when  they 
see  that  we  are  ready  to  give  up  our  own  will  to  the  law.  You  do 
not  care  for  the  people.  I  know  their  voice  is  often  rude  and 
rough,  but  it  utters  wholesome  truths,  and  no  one  needs  to  hear 
truth  more  than  a  king.  The  Pharaoh  who  chooses  priests  and 
•courtiers  for  his  advisers  will  hear  plenty  of  flattering  words, 
while  he  who  tries  to  fulfill  the  wishes  of  the  nation  will  have 
much  to  suffer  from  those  around  him ;  but  the  latter  will  feel 
peace  in  his  own  heart  and  be  praised  in  the  ages  to  come.  I 
have  often  erred,  yet  the  Egyptians  will  weep  for  me  as  one 
who  knew  their  needs  and  considered  their  welfare  like  a  father. 
A  king  who  really  knows  his  duties  finds  it  an  easy  and  beautiful 
task  to  win  the  love  of  the  people — an  unthankful  one  to  gain 
the  applause  of  the  great — almost  an  impossibility  to  content 
both. 

"Do  not  forget — I  say  it  again— that  kings  and  priests  exist 
for  the  people,  and  not  the  people  for  their  kings  and  priests. 
Honor  religion  for  its  own  sake  and  as  the  most  important 
means  of  securing  the  obedience  of  the  governed  to.  their 
governors;  but  at  the  same  time  show  its  promulgators  that 
you  look  on  them  not  as  receptacles  but  as  servants  of  the 
deity.  Hold  fast  as  the  law  commands  by  what  is  old;  but 
never  shut  the  gates  of  your  kingdom  against  what  is  new  if 
better.  Bad  men  break  at  once  with  the  old  traditions;  fools 
only  care  for  what  is  new  and  fresh ;  the  narrow-minded  and  the 
selfish  privileged  class  cling  indiscriminately  to  all  that  is  old 
an<i  pronounce  progress  to  be  a  sin;  but  the  wise  endeavor  to 
retain  all  that  has  approved  itself  in  the  past,  to  remove  all  that 
has  become  defective,  and  to  adopt  whatever  is  good,  from 
whatever  source  it  may  have  sprung.  Act  thus,  my  son.  The 
priests  will  try  to  keep  you  back — the  Greeks  to  urge  you 
forward.  Choose  one  party  or  the  other,  but  beware  of  inde- 
cision— of  yielding  to  the  one  to-day,  to  the  other  to-morrow. 
Between  two  stools  a  man  falls  to  the  ground.  Let  the  one 
party  be  your  friends,  the  other  your  enemies;  by  trying  to 
please  both  you  will  have  both  opposed  to  you.  Human  beings 
hate  the  man  who  shows  kindness  to  their  enemies.  In  the  last 
few  months,  during  which  you  have  ruled  independently,  both 
parties  have  been  offended  by  your  miserable  indecision.  The 


416  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

man  who  runs  backward  and  forward  like  a  child  makes  no 
progress  and  is  soon  weary.  I  have  till  now — till  I  felt  that 
death  was  near — always  encouraged  the  Greeks  and  opposed 
the  priests.  In  the  active  business  of  life,  the  clever,  brave 
Greeks  seemed  to  me  especially  serviceable;  at  death,  I  want 
men  who  can  make  me  out  a  pass  into  the  nether  regions.  The 
gods  forgive  me  for  not  being  able  to  resist  words  that  sound 
so  like  a  joke,  even  in  my  last  hour!  They  created  me  and 
must  take  me  as  I  am.  I  rubbed  my  hands  for  joy  when  I  be- 
came king;  with  thee,  my  son,  coming  to  the  throne  is  a  graver 
matter.  Now  call  Niethotep  back;  I  have  still  something  to 
say  to  you  both." 

The  king  gave  his  hand  to  the  high-priest  as  he  entered,  say- 
ing: "I  leave  you,  Neithotep,  without  ill-will,  though  my  opin- 
ion that  you  have  been  a  better  priest  than  a  servant  of  your 
king  remains  unaltered.  Psamtik  will  probably  prove  a  more 
obedient  follower  than  I  have  been,  but  one  thing  I  wish  to 
impress  earnestly  on  you  both :  Do  not  dismiss  the  Greek  mer- 
cenaries until  the  war  with  the  Persians  is  over,  and  has  ended— 
we  will  hope — in  victory  for  Egypt.  My  former  predictions 
are  not  worth  anything  now;  when  death  draws  near  we  get 
depressed  and  things  begin  to  look  a  little  black.  Without  the 
auxiliary  troops  we  shall  be  hopelessly  lost,  but  with  them  vie  - 
tory  is  not  impossible.  Be  clever;  show  the  lonians  that  they 
are  fighting  on  the  Nile  for  the  freedom  of  their  own  country — • 
that  Cambyses,  if  victorious,  will  not  be  contented  with  Egypt 
alone,  while  his  defeat  may  bring  freedom  to  their  own  enslaved 
countrymen  in  Ionia.  I  know  you  agree  with  me,  Neithotep, 
for  in  your  heart  you  mean  well  to  Egypt.  Now  read  me  the 
prayers.  I  feel  exhausted;  my  end  must  be  very  near.  If  I 
could  only  forget  that  poor  Nitetis!  had  she  the  right  to  curse 
us?  May  the  judges  of  the  dead — may  Osiris — have  mercy 
on  our  souls!  Sit  down  by  me,  Ladice;  lay  thy  hand  on-  my 
burning  forehead.  And  Psamtik,  in  presence  of  these  witnesses, 
swear  to  honor  and  respect  thy  step-mother,  as  if  thou  wert 
her  own  child.  My  poor  wife!  Come  and  seek  me  soon  before 
the  throne  of  Osiris.  A  widow  and  childless,  what  hast  thou 
to  do  with  this  world?  We  brought  up  Nitetis  as  our  own 
daughter,  and  yet  we  are  so  heavily  punished  for  her  sake. 
But  her  curse  rests  on  us — and  only  on  us;  not  on  thee. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  417 

Psamtik,  nor  on  thy  children.  Bring  my  grandson.  Was  that 
a. tear?  perhaps;  well,  the  little  things  to  which  one  has  accus- 
tomed one's  self  are  generally  the  hardest  to  give  up." 


Rhodopis  entertained  a  fresh  guest  that  evening — Kallias,  the 
son  of  Phaenippus,*  the  same  who  first  appeared  in  our  tale 
as  the  bearer  of  news  from  the  Olympic  games. 

The  lively,  cheerful  Athenian  had  just  come  back  from  his 
native  country,  and,  as  an  old  and  tried  friend,  was  not  only 
received  by  Rhodopis,  but  made  acquainted  with  the  secret  of 
Sappho's  marriage. 

Knakias,  her  old  slave,  had,  it  is  true,  taken  in  the  flag,  which 
was  the  sign  of  reception,  two  days  ago,  but  he  knew  that 
Kallias  was  always  welcome  to  his  mistress,  and,  therefore,  ad- 
mitted him  just  as  readily  as  he  refused  everyone  else. 

The  Athenian  had  plenty  to  tell,  and,  when  Rhodopis  was 
called  away  on  business,  he  took  his  favorite  Sappho  into  the 
garden,  joking  and  teasing  her  gayly  as  they  looked  out  for  her 
lover's  coming.  But  Bartja  did  not  come,  and  Sappho  began 
to  be  so  anxious  that  Kallias  called  old  Melitta,  whose  longing 
looks  in  the  direction  of  Naukratis  were,  if  possible,  more  anx- 
ious even  than  those  of  her  mistress,  and  told  her  to  fetch  a 
musical  instrument  which  he  had  brought  with  him. 

It  was  a  rather  large  lute,  made  of  gold  and  ivory,  and,  as 
he  handed  it  to  Sappho,  he  said,  with  a  smile:  "The  inventor 
of  this  glorious  instrument,  the  divine  Anacreon,  had  it  made 
expressly  for  me,  at  my  own  wish.  He  calls  it  a  barbiton,f  and 
brings  wonderful  tones  from  its  chords — tones  that  must  echo 
on  even  into  the  land  of  shadows.^  I  have  told  this  poet,  who 
offers  his  life  as  one  great  sacrifice  to  the  muses,  Eros  and 

*See  notes  pp.  35,  38. 

tBarbitos  and  barbiton  ( /3dp6irog  and  pdpdirov).  A  stringed  in- 
strument in  use  among  the  Greeks  larger  than  the  ordinary  lyre 
("Jul.  Poll.,"  iv,  59)  and  which  seems,  as  Anthony  Rich  appropriately 
says,  to  have  borne  the  same  relation  to  the  usual  lute  that  the  violon- 
cello does  to  the  violin.  Anacreon  accompanied  his  songs  on  this  in- 
strument, and  is  said  to  have  invented  it  (?). 

JSee  note  p.  20  and  "Athen.,"  iv,  p.  175. 


418  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

Dionysus,*  a  great  deal  about  you,  and  he  made  me  promise  to 
bring  you  this  song,  which  he  wrote  on  purpose  for  you,  as  a 
gift  from  himself.  Now,  listen : 

"  'The  Phrygian  rock  that  braves  the  storm 
Was  once  a  weeping  matron's  form; 
And  Prokne,  hapless,  frantic  maid, 
Is  now  a  swallow  in  the  shade. 

"  'Oh!  that  a  mirror's  form  were  mine 
To  sparkle  with  that  smile  divine; 
And  like  my  heart  I  then  should  be 
Reflecting  thee,  and  only  thee! 

"  'Or  were  I,  love,  the  robe  which  flows 
O'er  every  charm  which  secret  glows, 
In  many  a  lucid  fold  to  swim, 
And  cling  and  grow  to  very  limb! 

"  'Oh!  could  I,  as  the  streamlet's  wave, 
Thy  warmly  mellowing  beauties  lave, 
Or  float  as  perfume  on  thine  hair, 
And  breathe  my  soul  in  fragrance  there! 

"  'I  wish  I  were  the  zone  that  lies 

Warm  to  thy  breast  and  feels  its  sighs! 
Or  like  those  envious  pearls  that  show 
So  faintly  on  that  neck  of  snow; 
Yes,  I  would  be  a  happy  gem, 
Like  them  to  hang,  to  fade  like  them. 

"  'What  more  would  thy  Anacreon  be? 
O!  anything  that  touches  thee. 
Nay,  sandals  for  those  airy  feet — 
Thus  to  be  pressed  by  thee  were  sweet.' 

— Translated  by  Moore. 


"Are  you  angry  with  the  poet  for  his  presumption?" 
"How  could  I  be?    Poets  must  always  be  allowed  a  certain 
freedom." 

*See  Antipater  of  Sidon.    "Epigram  on  Anacreon,"  Griech.    "Blu« 
menlese,"  iii,  52,  and  also  the  following  translation  by  Moore: 

"To  beauty's  smile  and  wine's  delight, 

To  joys  he  loved  on  earth  so  well, 
Still  shall  his  spirit  all  the  night 
Attune  the  wild  aerial  shell." 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  419 

"And,  especially,  such  a  poet!" 

"Who  chooses  such  a  master  in  the  art  of  song  as  bearer  of 
his  verses." 

"You  little  flatterer!  Well,  when  I  was  twenty  years  younger, 
they  had  some  right  to  praise  my  voice  and  style  of  singing; 
but  now 

"Now  you're  trying  to  get  some  more  praise;  you  shall  not 
succeed  in  extorting  another  word.  But  I  should  like  to  know 
whether  this  barbiton,  as  you  say  it  is  called,  with  its  soft  tones, 
would  do  as  accompaniment  for  other  songs  besides  Ana- 
creon's?" 

"Of  course.  Take  the  plectrum*  and  try  its  chords  your- 
self; though  I.  fear  your  delicate  ringers  will  find  them  a  little 
unmanageable." 

"I  cannot  sing.  I  feel  too  anxious  at  Bartja's  remaining  so 
long  away." 

"Or,  in  other  words,  longing  for  him  has  taken  away  your 
voice.  There  is  a  song  by  your  Lesbian  aunt,  the  great  Sappho, 
which  just  describes  the  state  of  mind  you  are  probably  in  at  this 
moment.  Do  you  know  it?" 

"No,  I  think"  not." 

"Then  listen.  It  used  to  be  the  song  I  liked  best  to  show  off 
ito.  One  would  think  Eros  himself,  and  not  a  woman,  had 
written  it: 

"  'Blest  as  the  immortal  gods  is  he 
The  youth  who  fondly  sits  by  thee, 
And  hears  and  sees  thee  all  the  while 
Softly  speak  and  sweetly  smile. 


"  '  'Twas  that  deprived  my  soul  of  rest 
And  raised  such  tumults  in  my  breast; 
For  while  I  gazed,  in  transport  toss'd, 
My  breath  was  gone,  my  voice  was  lost. 


"  'My  bosom  glow'd;  the  subtle  flame 
Ran  quick  through  all  my  vital  frame; 
On  my  dim  eyes  a  darkness  hung 
My  ears  with  hollow  murmurs  rung. 

*A  little  ivory  stick  which  was  used  in  playing  on  the  stringed  in- 
struments. 


420  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"  'With  dewy  damp  my  limbs  were  chill'd; 
My  blood  with  gentle  horrors  thrilled; 
My  feeble  pulse  forgot  to  play; 
I  fainted,  sank  and  died  away.'* 

"Now,  what  do  you  say  to  this  song?  But,  by  Hercules, 
child,  how  pale  you  are!  Have  the  verses  affected  you  so  much, 
or  are  you  frightened  at  this  likeness  of  your  own  longing  heart? 
Calm  yourself,  girl.  Who  knows  what  may  have  happened  to 
keep  your  lover?" 

"Nothing  has  happened — nothing,"  cried  a  gay,  manly  voice, 
and  in  a  few  seconds  Sappho  was  in  the  arms  of  him  she  loved. 

Kallias  looked  on  quietly,  smiling  at  the  wonderful  beauty 
of  these  two  young  lovers. 

"But  now,"  said  the  prince,  after  Sappho  had  made  him 
acquainted  with  Kallias,  "I  must  go  at  once  to  your  grand- 
mother. We  dare  not  wait  four  days  for  our  wedding.  It  must 
be  to-day!  There  is  danger  in  every  hour  of  delay.  Is  Theo- 
pompus  here?" 

"I  think  he  must  be,"  said  Sappho.  "I  know  of  nothing  else 
that  could  keep  my  grandmother  so  long  in  the  house.  But 
tell  me,  what  is  this  about  our  marriage?  It  seems  to  me — 

"Let  us  go  in  first,  love.  I  fancy  a  thunderstorm  must  be 
coming  on.  The  sky  is  so  dark,  and  it's  so  intolerably  sultry." 

"As  you  like,  only  make  haste,  unless  you  mean  me  to  die 
of  impatience.  There  is  not  the  slightest  reason  to  be  afraid 
of  a  storm.  Since  I  was  a  child  there  has  not  been  either  light- 
ning or  thunder  in  Egypt  at  this  time  of  the  year."f 

"Then  you  will  see  something  new  to-day,"  said  Kallias,  laugh- 
ing; "for  a  large  drop  of  rain  has  just  fallen  on  my  bald  head — 
the  Nile  swallows  were  flying  close  to  the  water  as  I  came  here, 
and  you  see  there  is  a  cloud  coming  over  the  moon  already. 
Come  in  quickly  or  you  will  get  wet.  Ho,  slave,  see  that  a  black 
lamb  is  offered  to  the  gods  of  the  lower  world.":): 

*This  song  is  the  second  of  the  only  two  odes  of  Sappho  which  have 
reached  us  entire.  It  was  preserved  by  Longinus  and  imitated  in  Lat- 
in by  Catullus.  The  English  version  is  by  Ambrose  Phillips. 

•{•Thunderstorms  do  occur  in  Egypt,  though  very  rarely.  One  hap- 
pened when  Lepsius  was  there.  "Briefe  aus  Aegypten,"  p.  26.  That 
rain  had  fallen  in  Upper  Egypt  at  the  date  of  our  tale  is  related  by 
"Herodotus"  (iii,  10)  as  a  miracle. 

JWhen  a  thunderstorm  threatened  the  Greeks  were  accustomed  to 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  421 

They  found  Theopompus  sitting  in  Rhodopis'  own  apart- 
ments, as  Sappho  had  supposed.  He  had  finished  telling  her  the 
story  of  Zopyrus'  arrest  and  of  the  journey  which  Bartja  and 
his  friends  had  taken  on  his  behalf. 

Their  anxiety  on  the  matter  was  beginning  to  be  so  serious 
tfhat  Bartja's  unexpected  appearance  was  a  great  relief.  His 
words  flew  as  he  repeated  the  events  of  the  last  few  hours  and 
begged  Theopompus  to  look  out,  at  once,  for  a  ship  in  sailing 
order,  to  convey  himself  and  his  friends  from  Egypt." 

"That  suits  famously,"  exclaimed  Kallias.  "My  own  trireme 
brought  me  to  Naukratis  to-day;  it  is  lying  now,  fully 
equipped  for  sea,  in  the  port,  and  is  quite  at  your  service.  I 
have  only  to  send  orders  to  the  steersman  to  keep  the  crew 
together  and  everything  in  sailing  orders.  You  are  under  no 
obligations  to  me;  on  the  contrary  it  is  I  who  have  to  thank 
you  for  the  honor  you  will  confer  on  me.  Ho,  Knakias — tell 
my  slave,  Philomelus,  he's  waiting  in  the  hall — to  take  a  boat 
to  the  port  and  order  my  steersman,  Nausarchus,  to  keep  the 
ship  in  readiness  for  starting.  Give  him  this  seal ;  it  empowers 
him  to  do  all  that  is  necessary." 

"And  my  slaves?"  said  Bartja. 

"Knakias  can  tell  my  old  steward  to  take  them  to  Kallias' 
ship,"  answered  Theopompus. 

"And  when  they  see  this,"  said  Bartja,  giving  the  old  servant 
his  ring,  "they  will  obey  without  a  question." 

Knakias  went  away  with  many  a  deep  obeisance,  and  the 
prince  went  on:  "Now,  my  mother,  I  have  a  great  petition  to 
ask  of  you." 

"I  guess  what  it  is,"  said  Rhodopis,  with  a  smile.  "You  wish 
your  marriage  to  be  hastened,  and  I  see  that  I  dare  not  oppose 
your  wish." 

"If  I'm  not  mistaken,"  said  Kallias,  "we  have  a  remarkable 
case  here.  Two  people  are  in  great  peril  and  find  that  very  peril 
a  matter  of  rejoicing." 

"Perhaps  you  are  right  there,"  said  Bartja,  pressing  Sappho's 

offer  a  black  lamb  to  the  storms,  who  were  reckoned  among  the  divin- 
ities of  the  lower  regions.  In  the  "Frogs  of  Aristophanes,"  when  Aes- 
chylus is  beginning  a  frightfully  violent  attack  on  Euripides  Dio- 
nysus calls  out:  "Slaves,  bring  a  limb,  a  black  lamb;  a  fearful  storm 
is  coming!"  "Frogs  of  Aristophanes,"  853. 


422  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

hand  unperceived.  And  then,  turning  to  Rhodopis  again,  he- 
begged  her  to  delay  no  longer  in  trusting  her  dearest  treasure 
to  his  care — a  treasure  whose  worth  he  knew  so  well. 

Rhodopis  rose,  she  laid  her  right  hand  on  Sappho's  head 
and  her  left  on  Bartja's,  and  said:  "There  is  a  myth  which  tells 
of  a  blue  lake  in  the  land  of  roses;  its  waves  are  sometimes 
calm  and  gentle,  but  at  others  they  rise  into  a  stormy  flood; 
the  taste  of  its  waters  is  partly  sweet  as  honey,  partly  bitter  as 
gall. .  Ye  will  learn  the  meaning  of  this  legend  in  the  marriage 
land  of  roses.  Ye  will  pass  calm  and  stormy — sweet  and  bitter 
hours  there.  So  long  as  thou  wert  a  child,  Sappho,  thy  life 
passed  on  like  a  cloudless  spring  morning,  but  when  thou 
becam'st  a  maiden,  and  hadst  learned  to  love,  thine  heart  was 
opened  to  admit  pain;  and  during  the  long  months  of  separa- 
tion pain  was  a  frequent  guest  there.  This  guest  will  seek  ad- 
mission as  long  as  life  lasts.  Bartja,  it  will  be  your  duty  to 
keep  this  intruder  away  from  Sappho,  as  far  as  it  lies  in  your 
power.  I  know  the  world.  I  could  perceive — even  betore 
Croesus  told  me  of  your  generous  nature — that  you  were  wor- 
thy of  my  Sappho.  This  justified  me  in  allowing  you  to  eat 
the  quince*  with  her;  this  induces  me  now  to  intrust  to  you, 
without  fear,  what  I  have  always  looked  upon  as  a  sacred  pledge 
committed  to  my  keeping.  Look  upon  her,  too,  only  as  a  loan. 
Nothing  is  more  dangerous  to  love  than  a  comfortable  assurance 
of  exclusive  possession.  I  have  been  blamed  for  allowing  such 
an  inexperienced  child  to  go  forth  into  your  distant  country, 
where  custom  is  so  unfavorable  to  women,  but  I  know  what 
Jove  is — I  know  that  a  girl  who  loves  knows  no  home  but  the 
heart  of  her  husband — the  woman  whose  heart  has  been  touched 
by  Eros  no  misfortune  but  that  of  separation  from  him  whom 
she  has  chosen.  And  besides,  I  would  ask  you,  Kallias  and 
Theopompus,  is  the  position  of  your  own  wives  so  superior  to 
that  of  the  Persian  women?  Are  not  the  women  of  Ionia  and 
Attica  forced  to  pass  their  lives  in  their  own  apartments,  thank- 
ful if  they  are  allowed  to  cross  the  street  accompanied  by  sus- 
picious and  distrustful  slaves?  As  to  the  custom  which  prevails 
in  Persia  of  taking  many  wives,  I  have  no  fear  either  for  Bartja 
or  Sappho.  He  will  be  more  faithful  to  his  wife  than  are  many 
Greeks,  for  he  will  find  in  her  what  you  are  obliged  to  seek, 
on  the  one  hand  in  marriage,  on  the  other  in  the  houses  of  the 

*See  note  p.  399, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  423 

cultivated  Hetaere* — in  the  former,  housewives  and  mothers, 
in  the  latter,  animated  and  enlivening  intellectual  society.  Take 
her,  my  son.  I  give  her  to  you  as  an  old  warrior  gives  his 
sword,  his  best  possession,  to  his  stalwart  son — he  gives  it  glad- 
ly and  with  confidence.  Whithersoever  she  may  go  she  will 
always  remain  a  Greek,  and  it  comforts  me  to  think  that  in  her 
new  home  she  will  bring  honor  to  the  Greek  name  and  friends 
to  our  nation.  Child,  I  thank  thee  for  those  tears.  I  can  com- 
mand my  own,  but  fate  has  made  me  pay  an  immeasurable  price 
for  the  power  of  doing  so.  The  gods  have  heard  your  oath, 
my  noble  Bartja.  Never  forget  it,  but  take  her  as  your  own — 
your  friend — your  wife.  Take  her  away  as  soon  as  your  friends 
return ;  it  is  not  the  will  of  the  gods  that  the  'Hymenaeus'  should 
be  sung  at  Sappho's  nuptial  rites."f 

As  she  said  these  words  she  laid  Sappho's  hand  in  Bartja's, 
embraced  her  with  passionate  tenderness,  and  breathed  a  light 
kiss  on  the  forehead  of  the  young  Persian.  Then,  turning  to 
her  Greek  friends,  who  stood  by,  much  affected: 

"That  was  a  quiet  nuptial  ceremony,"  she  said;  "no  songs, 
no  torchlight!  May  their  union  be  so  much  the  happier.  Me- 
litta,  bring  the  bride's  marriage  ornaments,  the  bracelets  and 
necklaces  which  lie  in  the  bronze  casket  on  my  dressing-table, 
that  our  darling  may  give  her  hand  to  her  lord  attired  as  be- 
seems a  future  princess."^: 

"Yes,  and  do  not  linger  on  the  way,"  cried  Kallias,  whose 
old  cheerfulness  had  now  returned.  "Neither  can  we  allow  the 


*See  note  p.  7. 

tThe  "Hymenaeus"  was  the  wedding-song,  so  called  because  of  its 
refrain  "Hymen,  O!  Hymenaei,  O!"  The  god  of  marriage,  Hymen, 
took  his  origin  and  name  from  the  hymn,  was  afterward  decked  out 
richly  with  myths,  and  finally,  according  to  Catullus,  received  a  seat 
on  Mount  Helikon  with  the  muses.  Kochly  ("Sappho,"  p.  195)  thinks 
that  these  Hymenaei  may  be  called  a  kind  of  lyric  drama,  as  they  were 
composed  of  different  portions  like  the  acts  of  a  play,  in  which  the 
characteristic  parts  of  the  marriage  ceremony  were  described  in  song 
and  accompanied  by  appropriate  action. 

|A  Greek  bride  was  beautifully  adorned  for  her  marriage,  and  her 
bridemaids  received  holiday  garments.  Homer,  "Odyss.,"  vi,  27.  Be- 
sides which,  after  the  bath,  which  both  bride  and  bridegroom  were 
obliged  to  take,  she  was  annotated  with  sweet-smelling  essences. 
"Thucyd.,"  ii,  15.  Xenoph.,  "Symp.."  ii.  3,  Bottiger,  "Aldobr.  Hoch- 
zeit,"  p.  42. 


424  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

niece  of  the  greatest  of  Hymen's  poets*  to  be  married  without 
the  sound  of  song  and  music.  The  young  husband's  house  is, 
to  be  sure,  too  far  off  for  our  purpose,  so  we  will  suppose  that 
the  andronitis  is  his  dwelling.  We  will  conduct  the  maiden 
thither  by  the  center  door,  and  there  we  will  enjoy  a  merry  wed- 
ding-feast by  the  family  hearth.  Here,  slave-girls,  come  and 
form  yourselves  into  two  choruses.  Half  of  your  number  take 
the  part  of  the  youths ;  the  other  half,  that  of  the  maidens,  and 
sing  us  Sappho's  'Hymenaeus.'  I  will  be  the  torch-bearer  ;f 
that  dignity  is  mine  by  right.  You  must  know,  Bartja,  that 
my  family  has  an  hereditary  right  to  carry  the  torches  at  the 
Eleusinian  mysteries  and  we  are,  therefore,  called  daduchi,  or 
torch-bea.rers4  Ho,  slave !  see  that  the  door  of  the  andronitis 
is  hung  with  flowers,  and  tell  your  comrades  to  meet  us  with 
a  shower  of  sweetmeats  as  we  enter.§  That's  right,  Melitta;  why 
how  did  you  manage  to  get  those  lovely  violet  and  myrtle  mar- 
riage-crowns made  so  quickly?  The  rain  is  streaming  through 
the  opening  above.  You  see,  Hymen  has  persuaded  Zeus  to 
help  him;  so  that  not  a  single  marriage-rite  shall  be  omitted. 
You  could  not  take  the  bath  which  ancient  custom  prescribes 
for  the  bride  and  bridegroom  on  the  morning  of  their  wedding- 
day,  so  you  have  only  to  stand  here  a  moment  and  take  the  rain 
of  Zeus  as  an  equivalent  for  the  waters  of  the  sacred  spring. 
Now,  girls,  begin  your  song.  Let  the  maidens  bewail  the  rosy 
days  of  childhood  and  the  youths  praise  the  lot  of  those  who 
marry  young." 

Five  well-practiced  treble  voices  now  began  to  sing  the  chorus 
of  virgins  in  a  sad  and  plaintive  tone: 

"When  in  the  garden's  fenced  and  cultured  ground, 
Where  browse  no  flocks,  where  plowshares  never  wound, 
By  sunbeams  strengthen'd,  nourished  by  the  shower, 
And  sooth'd  by  zephyr,  blooms  the  lovely  flower; 
Maids  long  to  place  it  in  their  modest  zone, 
And  youths  enraptur'd  wish  it  for  their  own. 

*The  Lesbian  Sappho. 

fThe  mother  of  the  bride  lighted  the  torch.  "Iphig.  a.  Aulis,"  722. 
The  torch-bearer  was  probably  intended  to  represent  Hymen.  "Ald- 
obr.  Hochzeit,"  p.  142.  Becker,  "Charikles,"  iii,  p.  306. 

tSee  note  p.  38. 

§A  custom  also  in  vogue  at  Rome.    "Pchol.  Aristoph."    "Plutarch, 
768.    Becker,  "Charikles"  iii,  p.  306.    ' 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  425 

But  from  the  stem  once  plucked,  in  dust  it  lies, 
Nor  youth  nor  maid  will  then  desire  a  prize.  ' 
The  virgin  thus  her  blushing  beauty  rears, 
Loved  by  her  kindred  and  her  young  compeers; 
But  if  her  simple  charm,  her\naiden  grace, 
Is  sullied  by  one  spoiler's  rude  embrace, 
Adoring  youths  no  more  her  steps  attend, 
Nor  loving  maidens  greet  the  maiden  friend, 
O,  Hymen,  hear!   O,  sacred  Hymen,  haste! 
Come,  god  and  guardian  of  the  fond  and  chaste!" 

And  the  second  chorus  returned  answer  in  deeper  voices  and 
jieerful  tones: 

"As  in  the  naked  field  the  vine's  weak  shoot 
Nor  lifts  its  languid  stem  nor  glows  with  fruit; 
But,  by  itself  weighed  down,  it  lonely  strays 
And  on  its  roots  its  highest  tendril  lays. 
The  herdsman  then,  the  passing  binds,  neglect 
The  lonely  vine,  nor  cherish  nor  protect. 
If  by  some  happy  chance  its  feeble  boughs 
Twined  round  the  trunk  shall  make  the  elm  a  spouse; 
No  herdsman  then,  nor  passing  hinds,  neglect 
The  wedded  vine,  but  cherish  and  protect. 
So  is  the  fair  beloved  who  binds  her  fate 
In  wedlock  chaste  to  some  accordant  mate 
She  gives  the  joys  that  warm  her  husband's  breast, 
And  doting  parents  by  her  bliss  are  blessed. 
O,  Hymen,  hear!  O,  sacred  Hymen,  haste! 
Come,  god  and  guardian  of  the  fond  and  chaste!"* 

Then  the  two  choruses  joined  in  repeating  the  call  on  Hymen 
again  and  again,  in  tones  of  mingled  desire  and  exultation. 

Suddenly  the  song  was  hushed,  for  a  flash  of  lightning  had 
shone  down  through  the  aperture  beneath  which  Kallias  had 
stationed  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  followed  by  a  loud  peal  of 
thunder.  "See!"  cried  the  daduchus,  raising  his  hand  to  heaven ; 
"Zeus  himself  has  taken  the  nuptial-torch,  and  sings  the  'Hy- 
menaeus'  for  his  favorites." 

At  dawn  the  next  morning  Sappho  and  Bartja  left  the  house 
and  went  into  the  garden.  After  the  violent  storm  which  had 

*0nly  the  first  two  verses  of  this  song  have  come  down  to  us  as 
Sappho  wrote  them ;  for  the  latter  part  we  are  obliged  to  make  use  of 
the  imitation,  by  Catullus,  which,  however,  judging  by  the  original 
verses  which  we  do  possess,  may  almost  be  called  a  translation,  The 
English  version  is  by  Lamb. 


426  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

raged  all  night  the  garden  was  looking  as  fresh  and  cheerful  in 
the  morning  light  as  the  faces  of  the  newly  married  pair. 

Bartja's  anxiety  for  his  friends,  whom  he  had  almost  forgot- 
ten in  the  excitement  of  his  marriage,  had  roused  them  so  early. 

The  garden  had  been  laid  out  on  an  artificial  hill,  and  over- 
looked the  inundated  plain  beneath.  On  the  smooth  surface  of 
the  water  lay  blue  and  white  lotus-blossoms,  and  different  kinds 
of  water-birds  were  swimming  and  flying  round  them  or  set- 
tling a  moment  on  the  tops  of  the  palm-trees,  only  to  fly  off 
again,  screaming  and  chattering,  as  soon  as  a  gay  sail  appeared 
in  sight.  The  air  had  been  cooled  by  the  storm,  a  fresh  north 
wind  was  blowing,  and,  notwithstanding  the  early  hour,  there 
were  a  number  of  boats  sailing  over  the  deluged  fields  before 
the  breeze.  The  songs  of  the  rowers,  the  plashing  strokes  of 
their  oars  and  the  cries  of  the  birds,  all  contributed  tone  to 
enliven  the  watery  landscape  of  the  Nile  valley,  which,  though 
varied  in  color,  was  somewhat  monotonous. 

Bartja  and  Sappho  stood  leaning  on  each  other  by  the  low 
wall  which  -ran  round  Rhodopis'  garden,  exchanging  tender 
words  and  watching  the  scene  below,  till  at  last  Bartja's  quick 
eye  caught  sight  of  a  boat  making  straight  for  the  house  and 
coming  on  fast  by  the  help  of  the  breeze  and  powerful  rowers. 

A  few  minutes  later  the  boat  put  into  shore  and  Zopyrus  with 
his  deliverers  stood  before  them. 

Darius'  plan  had  succeeded  perfectly,  thanks  to  the  storm, 
which  by  its  violence  and  the  unusual  time  of  its  appearance, 
had  scared  the  Egyptians;  but  still  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost, 
as  it  might  reasonably  be  supposed  that  the  men  of  Sais  would 
pursue  their  fugitive  with  all  the  means  at  their  command. 

Sappho,  therefore,  had  to  take  a  short  farewell  of  her  grand- 
mother— all  the  more  tender,  however,  for  its  shortness — and 
then,  led  by  Bartja  and  followed  by  old  Melitta,  who  was  to  ac- 
company her  to  Persia,  she  went  on  board  Syloson's  boat.  After 
an  hour's  sail  they  reached  a  beautifully  built  and  fast-sailing 
vessel,  the  Hygieia,  which  belonged  to  Kallias. 

He  was  waiting  for  them  on  board  his  trireme.  The  leave- 
taking  between  himself  and  his  young  friends  was  especially  af- 
fectionate. Bartja  hung  a  heavy  and  costly  gold  chain  round 
the  neck  of  the  old  man  in  token  of  his  gratitude,  while  Syloson, 
in  remembrance  of  the  dangers  they  had  shared  together,  tnrcw 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  427 

his  purple  cloak  over  Darius'  shoulders.  It  was  a  master-speci- 
men of  Tyrian  dye,  and  had  taken  the  latter's  fancy.  Darius 
accepted  the  gift  with  pleasure,  and  said,  as  he  took  his  leave; 
"You  must  never  forget  that  1  am  indebted  to  you,  my  Greek 
friend,  and  as  soon  as  possible  give  me  an  opportunity  of  doing 
you  service  in  return." 

"You  ought  to  come  to  me  first,  though,"  exclaimed  Zopyrus, 
embracing  his  deliverer.  "I  am  perfectly  ready  to  share  my 
last  gold  piece  with  you ;  or,  what  is  more,  if  it  would  do  you 
service,  to  sit  a  whole  week  in  that  infernal  hole  from  which 
you  saved  me.  Ah!  they're  weighing  anchor.  Farewell,  you 
brave  Greek!  Remember  me  to  the  flower-sisters,  especially 
to  the  pretty  little  Stephanion,  and  tell  her  her  long-legged  lover 
won't  be  able  to  plague  her  again  for  some  time  to  come  at 
3east.  And  then,  one  more  thing — take  this  purse  of  gold  for 
the  wife  and  children  of  that  impertinent  fellow  whom  I  struck 
too  hard  in  the  heat  of  the  fray." 

The  anchors  fell  rattling  onto  the  deck,  the  wind  filled  the 
sails,  the  trieraules*  took  his  flute  and  set  the  measure  of  the 
monotonous  keleusma,  or  rowing  song,  which  echoed  again 
from  the  hold  of  the  vessel. f  The  beak  of  the  ship  bearing  the 
statue  of  Hygieia$  carved  in  wood  began  to  move.  Bartja  and 
Sappho  stood  at  the  helm  and  gazed  toward  Naukratis  until  the 
shores  of  the  Nile  vanished  and  the  green  waves  of  the  Hellenic 
sea  splashed  their  foam  over  the  deck  of  the  trireme. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

Our  young  bride  and  bridegroom  had  not  traveled  farther 
than  Ephesus  when  the  news  reached  them  that  Amasis  was 
dead.  From  Ephesus  they  went  to  Babylon  and  thence  to 
Pasargadae,  which  Kassandane,  Atossa  and  Croesus  had  made 
their  temporary  residence.  Kassandane  was  to  accompany  the 
army  to  Egypt,  and  wished,  now  that  Nebenchari  had  restored 

*Flute-player  to  a  trireme. 

tSee  note  p.  154. 

IThe  goddess  of  health. 


428  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

her  sight,  to  see  the  monument  which  had  lately  been  built  to 
her  great  husband's  memory  after  Croesus'  design  before  leav- 
ing for  so  long  a  journey.  She  rejoiced  in  finding  it  worthy 
of  the  great  Cyrus,  and  spent  hours  every  day  in  the  beautiful 
gardens  which  had  been  laid  out  round  the  mausoleum. 

It  consisted  of  a  gigantic  sarcophagus  made  of  solid  marbk 
blocks  and  resting  like  a  house  on  a  substructure  composed  of 
six  high  marble  steps.  The  interior  was  fitted  up  like  a  room 
and  contained,  besides  the  golden  coffin  in  which  were  preserved 
such  few  remains  of  Cyrus  as  had  been  spared  by  the  dogs,  vul- 
tures and  elements,  a  silver  bed  and  a  table  of  the  same  metal,  on 
which  were  golden  drinking-cups  and  numerous  garments  or- 
namented with  the  rarest  and  most  costly  jewels. 

The  building  was  forty  feet  high.  The  shady  paradises*  and 
colonnades  by  which  it  wras  surrounded  had  been  planned  by 
Croesus,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  sacred  grove  was  a  dwelling 
house  for  the  Magi  appointed  to  watch  over  the  tomb. 

The  palace  of  Cyrus  could  be  seen  in  the  distance — a  palace  in 
which  he  had  appointed  that  the  future  kings  of  Persia  should 
pass  at  least  some  months  of  every  year.  It  was  a  splendid 
building  in  the  style  of  a  fortress,  and  so  inaccessibly  placed  that 
it  had  been  fixed  on  as  the  royal  treasure-house. f 

Here  in  the  fresh  mountain  air  of  a  place  dedicated  to  the 
memory  of  the  husband  she  had  loved  so  much,  Kassandane 
felt  well  and  at  peace ;  she  was  glad,  too,  to  see  that  Atossa  was 
recovering  the  old  cheerfulness  which  she  had  so  sadly  lost 
since  the  death  of  Nitetis  and  the  departure  of  Darius.  Sappho 
soon  became  the  friend  of  her  new  mother  and  sister,  and  all 
three  felt  very  loath  to  leave  the  lovely  Pasargadae. 

Darius  and  Zopyrus  had  remained  with  the  army  which  was 
assembling  in  the  plains  of  the  Euphrates,  and  Bartja,  too,  had 
to  return  thither  before  the  march  began. 

*Persian  pleasure-gardens. 

f'Strabo,"  730,  according  to  Aristobulus,  Arrian,  "Anab.,"  vi,  "Cur- 
tius,"x,  1.  "Pliny,"  vi,  29.  Kugler,  "Geschichte  der  Baukunst,"  i.  p.  99. 
Schnaase,  "Kunstgeschichte,"  i,  213.  Rich.,  "Narrative  of  a  Journey  to 
the  Site  of  Babylon."  Ritter,  "Erdkunde,"  viii,  p.  492.  Neibur,  "Rei- 
sen,"  etc.  This  building,  without  question,  suggests  a  connection 
with  the  rules  of  architecture  held  by  the  Greeks.  Herder  and  An- 
quetil  are  also  of  the  opinion  that  in  the  matter  of  architecture  the 
Persians  borrowed  more  from  the  Greeks  than  from  the  Egyptians. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  42'J 

Catnip  ,es  went  out  to  meet  his  family  on  their  return ;  he 
was  much  impressed  vith  Sappho's  great  beauty,  but  she  con- 
fessed to  her  husband  that  his  brother  only  inspired  her  with 
fear. 

The  king  had  altered  very  much  in  the  last  few  months.  His 
formerly  pale  and  almost  noble  features  were  reddened  and  dis- 
figured by  the  quantities  of  wine  he  was  in  the  habit  of  drinking. 
In  his  dark  eyes  there  was  the  old  fire  still,  but  dimmed  and 
polluted.  His  hair  and  beard,  formerly  so  luxuriant  and  black 
as  the  "raven's  wing,  hung  down  gray  and  disordered  over  his 
face  and  chin,  and  the  proud  smile,  which  used  so  to  improve  his 
features,  had  given  way  to  an  expression  of  contemptuous  an- 
noyance and  harsh  severity. 

Sometimes  he  laughed — loudly,  immoderately  and  coarsely — 
but  this  was  only  when  intoxicated,  a  condition  which  had  long 
ceased  to  be  unusual  with  him. 

He  continued  to  retain  an  aversion  to  his  wives;  so  much  so 
that  the  royal  harem  was  to  be  left  behind  in  Susa,  though  all 
his  court  took  their  favorite  wives  and  concubines  with  them  on 
the  campaign.  Still,  no  one  could  complain  that  the  king  was 
ever  guilty  of  injustice;  indeed,  he  insisted  more  eagerly  now 
than  before  on  the  rigid  execution  of  the  law;  and,  wherever 
he  detected  an  abuse,  his  punishments  were  cruel  and  inexor- 
able. Hearing  that  a  judge,  named  Sisamnes,  had  been  bribed 
to  pronounce  an  unjust  sentence,  he  condemned  the  wretched 
man  to  be  flayed,  ordered  the  seat  of  justice  to  be  covered  with 
his  skin,  appointed  the  son  to  the  father's  vacant  place  and  com- 
pelled him  to  occupy  this  fearful  seat.*  Cambyses  was  untiring 
as  commander  of  the  forces,  and  superintended  the  drilling  of 
the  troops  assembled  near  Babylon  with  the  greatest  rigor  and 
circumspection. 

The  hosts  were  to  march  after  the  festival  of  the  new  year,f 
which  Cambyses  celebrated  this  time  with  immense  expense 
and  profusion.  The  ceremony  over,  he  betoo,-  himself  to  the 
army.  Bartja  was  there.  He  came  up  to  his  brother,  beaming 
with  joy,  kissed  the  hem  of  his  robe  and  told  him,  in  a  tone  of 
triumph,  that  he  hoped  to  become  a  father.  The  king  trembled 

*"Herodot.,"  v,  25. 

tin  our  month  of  March. 


430  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

as  he  heard  the  words,  vouchsafed  his  brother  no  answer,  drank 
himself  into  unconsciousness  that  evening,  and  the  next  morn- 
ing called  the  soothsayers,  Magi  and  Chaklaeans  together,  in 
order  to  submit  a  question  to  them.  "Shall  I  be  committing  a 
sin  against  the  gods  if  I  take  my  sister  to  wife  and  thus  verify 
the  promise  of  the  dream  which  ye  formerly  interpreted  to  mean 
that  Atossa  should  bear  a  future  king  to  this  realm?" 

The  Magi  consulted  a  short  time  together.  Then,  Oropastes 
cast  himself  at  the  king's  feet  and  said :  "We  do  not  believe,  O 
king,  that  this  marriage  would  be  a  sin  against  the  gods;  inas- 
much as,  first,  it  is  a  custom  among  the  Pe'rsians  to  marry  with 
their  own  kin,*  and,  secondly,  though  it  be  not  written  in  the 
law  that  the  pure  man  may  marry  his  sister,  it  is  written  that 
the  king  may  do  what  seemeth  good  in  his  own  eyes.f  That 
which  pleaseth  thee  is,  therefore,  always  lawful." 

Cambyses  sent  the  Magi  away  with  rich  gifts,  gave  Oropastes 
full  powers  as  regent  of  the  kingdom  in  his  absence,  and  soon 
after  told  his  horrified  mother  that,  as  soon  as  the  conquest  of 
Egypt  and  the  punishment  of  the  son  of  Amasis  should  have 
been  achieved,  he  intended  to  marry  his  sister  Atossa. 

At  length  the  immense  host,  numbering  more  than  eight 
hundred  thousand  fighting  men,  departed  in  separate  divisions, 
and  reached  the  Syrian  desert  in  two  months.  Here  they  were 
met  by  the  Arabian  tribes  whom  Phanes  had  propitiated — the 
Amalekites  and  Geshurites — bringing  camels  and  horses  laden 
with  water  for  the  host. 

At  Accho,  in  the  land  of  the  Canaanites,  the  fleets  of  the  Syr- 
ians, Phoenicians  and  lonians  belonging,  to  Persia,  and  the 
auxiliary  ships  from  Cyprus  and  Samos,  won  by  the  efforts  of 
Phanes,  were  assembled.  The  case  of  the  Samian  fleet  was  a 
remarkable  one.  Polykrates  saw  in  Cambyses'  proposal  a  favor- 
able opportunity  of  getting  rid  of  all  the  citizens  who  were 
discontented  with  his  government,  manned  forty  triremes  with 
eight  thousand  malcontent  Samians,  and  sent  them  to  the  Per- 
sians with  tli*.  request  that  not  one  might  be  allowed  to  return 
home4 

*Anquetil  tells  us  that  the  modern  Parsees  still  consider  a  marriage 
between  very  near  relations  as  especially  advisable. 
fAccording  to  "Herod.,"  iii,  31. 
f'Herod.,"  iii.,  44. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  431 

As  soon  as  Phanes  heard  this  he  warned  the  doomed  men, 
who  at  once,  instead  of  sailing  to  join  the  Persian  forces,  re- 
turned to  Samos  and  attempted  to  overthrow  Polykrates.  They 
were  defeated,  however,  on  land,  and  escaped  to  Sparta  to  ask 
help  against  the  tyrant. 

A  full  month  before  the  time  of  the  inundation  the  Persian  and 
Egyptian  armies  were  standing  face  to  face  near  Pelusium,  on 
the  northeast  coast  of  the  delta. 

Phanes'  arrangements  had  proved  excellent.  The  Arabian 
tribes  had  kept  faith  so  well  that  the  journey  through  the  desert, 
which  would  usually  have  cost  thousands  of  lives,  had  been 
attended  with  very  little  loss,  and  the  time  of  year  had  been  so 
well  chosen  that  the  Persian  troops  reached  Egypt  by  dry  roads 
and  without  inconvenience. 

The  king  met  his  Greek  friend  with  every  mark  of  distinction, 
and  returned  a  friendly  nod  when  Phanes  said:  "I  hear  that 
you  have  been  less  cheerful  than  usual  since  the  death  of  your 
beautiful  bride.  A  woman's  grief  passes  in  stormy  and  violent 
complaint,  but  the  sterner  character  of  a  man  cannot  so  soon  be 
comforted.  I  know  what  you  feel,  for  I  have  lost  my  dearest, 
too.  Let  us  both  praise  the  gods  for  granting  us  the  best  remedy 
for  our  grief — war  and  revenge." 

Phanes  accompanied  the  king  to  an  inspection  of  the  troops 
and  to  the  evening  revel.  It  was  marvelous  to  see  the  influence 
he  exercised  over  this  fierce  spirit,  and  how  calm — nay,  even 
cheerful — Cambyses  became,  when  the  Athenian  was  near. 

The  Egyptian  army  was  by  no  means  contemptible,  even 
when  compared  with  the  immense  Persian  hosts.  Its  position 
was  covered  on  the  right  by  the  walls  of  Pelusium,  a  frontier 
fortress  designed  by  the  Egyptian  kings  as  a  defense  against 
incursion  from  the  east.  The  Persians  were  assured  by  desert- 
ers that  the  Egyptian  army  numbered  altogether  nearly  six  hun- 
dred thousand  men.  Besides  a  great  number  of  chariots  of  war, 
thirty  thousand  Karian  and  Ionian  mercenaries,  and  the  corps 
of  the  Mazai,*  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  Kalasirians,  one 
hundred  and  sixty  thousand  Hermotybians,  twenty  thousand 
horsemen,f  and  auxiliary  troops,  amounting  to  more  than  fifty 

*A  kind  of  police  force  partly  composed  of  foreigners,  who  had  to 
guard  prisoners  of  war  and  perform  other  similar  duties. 

tHerodotus  informs  us  (ii,  64)  that  the  entire  Egyptian  army  con- 


432  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

thousand  were  assembled  under  Psamtik's  banner;  among  these 
last  the  Lybian  maschawascha*  were  remarkable  for  their  milv 
tary  deeds,  and  the  Ethiopians  for  their  numerical  superiority. 
The  infantry  were     divided  into  regiments  and  companies 
under  different  standards,!  and  variously  equipped.  The  heavy- 
armed  soldiers  carried  large  shields,  lances  and  daggers;   the 
swordsmen^  and  those  who  fought  with  battle-axes  had  smaller 
shields  and  light  clubs;   besides  these  there  were  slingers,  but 
the  main  body  of  the  army  was  composed  of  archers,  whose 
bows  unbent  were  nearly  the  height  of  a  man.    The  only  cloth- 
ing of  the  horse-soldiers  was  the  apron,  and  their  weapon  a  light 
club  in  the  form  of  a  bill  or  battle-axe.    Those  warriors,  on  the 
contrary,  who  fought  in  chariots,  belonged  to  the  highest  rank 
of  the  military  caste,  spent  large  sums  on  the  decoration  of  their 

sisted  of  two  divisions — Hermotybians  and  Kalasirians.  A  great 
many  conjectures  have  been  made  as  to  the  signification  of  these  two 
words,  some  even  by  Herodotus  himself.  See  S.  Birch,  "Lettre  a  M. 
Letronne  sur  1'Expression  Hieroglyphique  du  mot  Calasiris.  Revue 
ArchSol.,  1847,  p.  149.  In  Egyptian  the  Kalasirians  are  called  Klaschr, 
and  are  bowmen.  The  Hermotybians  probably  took  their  name 
from  the  apron  which  they  wore:  Hemitybion  (  ruLnrUiov),  Aris- 
totle "Plut.,"  729.  This  was  Egyptian,  according  to  "Pollux,"  vii, 
71.  We  find  chariot-soldiers  on  almost  all  the  ancient  monuments, 
sometimes  wonderfully  true  to  nature.  See  Rosellini,  "Mon.  Stor.,"  ii, 
pi.  103,  i,  pi.  78.  Lepsius,  "Denkmaler,"  especially  in  "Abth.,"  iii. 
The  number  of  the  Egyptian  chariot-soldiers  was  known  and  praised 
even  by  Homer  ("II.,"  ix,  383),  and  though  only  one  representation  of 
a  warrior  on  horseback  has  been  discovered  on  the  Egyptian  monu- 
ments, their  inscriptions  and  numerous  statements  made  by  other 
nations  prove  that  they  made  use  of  horse-soldiers  also.  Diodorus  re- 
ports that  King  Rameses  led  twenty-four  thousand  horsemen  to  war, 
and  Sesonchis  (Sheshenk  or  Shishak)  came  up  against  Jerusalem  with 
three-score  thousand.  "II  Chron.,"  xii,  3.  "Isaiah,"  xxxvi,  9.  Ac- 
cording to  Herodotus  King  Amasis  was  on  horseback  when  a  messen- 
ger from  Hophra  came  to  him. 

*Probably  the  maxyer  of  North  Africa,  spoken  of  by  Herodotus. 

tA  number  of  drawings  of  such  standards  or  military  signs  are  tp  be 
found  in  "Wilkinson,"  i,  294,  and  Rosellini,  "Mon.  Civ.,"  121. 

Jin  these  and  descriptions  immediately  following  we  have  drawn 
our  information,  either  from  the  drawings  made  from  Egyptian  monu- 
ments in  Champollion,  Wilkinson,  Rosellini  and  Lepsius,  or  from  the 
monuments  themselves.  There  is  a  dagger  in  the  Berlin  museum,  the 
blade  of  which  is  of  bronze,  the  hilt  of  ivory  and  the  sheath  of  leather. 
Large  swords  are  only  to  be  seen  in  the  hands  of  the  foreign  auxil  - 
iaries,  but  the  native  Egyptians  are  armed  with  smal'  ones,  like 
daggers. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  433 

two-wheeled  chariots*  and  the  harness  of  their  magnificent 
horses,f  and  went  to  battle  in  their  most  costly  ornaments. 
They  were  armed  with  bows  and  lances,  and  a  charioteer  stood 
beside  each,  so  that  their  undivided  attention  could  be  bestowed 
upon  the  battle. 

The  Persian  foot  was  not  much  more  numerous  than  the 
Egyptian,  but  they  had  six  times  the  number  of  horse-soldiers. 

As  soon  as  the  armies  stood  face  to  face  Cambyses  caused  the 
great  Pelusian  plain  to  be  cleared  of  trees  and  brushwood,  and 
had  the  sand-hills  removed  which  were  to  be  found  there,  in 
order  to  give  his  cavalry  and  scythe-chariots  a  fair  field  of  ac- 
tion.$  Phanes'  knowledge  of  the  country  was  of  great  use. 
He  had  drawn  up  a  plan  of  action  with  great  military  skill,  and 
succeeded  in  gaining  not  only  Cambyses'  approval,  but  that  of 
the  old  general,  Megabyzus,  and  the  best  tacticians  among  the 
Achaemenidae.  His  local  knowledge  was  especially  valuable  on 
account  of  the  marshes  which  intersected  the  Pelusian  plain,  and 
might,  unless  carefully  avoided,  have  proved  fatal  to  the  Persian 
enterprise.  At  the  close  of  the  council  of  war  Phanes  begged 
to  be  heard  once  more:  "Now,  at  length,"  he  said,  "I  am  at 
liberty  to  satisfy  your  curiosity  in  reference  to  the  closed  wagons 
full  of  animals  which  I  have  had  transported  thither.  They  con- 
tain five  thousand  cats!  Yes,  you  may  laugh,  but  I  tell  you 
these  creatures  will  be  more  serviceable  to  us  than  a  hundred 
thousand  of  our  best  soldiers.  Many  of  you  are  aware-  that  the 
Egyptians  have  a  superstition  which  leads  them  rather  to  die 
than  kill  a  cat.  I,  myself,  nearly  paid  for  such  a  murder  once 
with  my  life.  Remembering  this  I  have  been  making  a  diligent 
search  for  cats  during  my  late  journey;  in  Cyprus  where  there 
are  splendid  specimens,  in  Samos  and  in  Crete.  All  I  could  get 
I  ordered  to  be  caught,  and  now  propose  that  they  be  distributed 
among  those  troops  who  will  be  opposed  to  the  native  Egyptian 
soldiers.  Every  man  must  be  told  to  fasten  one  firmly  to  his 
shield  and  hold  it  out  as  he  advances  toward  the  enemy1.  I  will 
wager  that  there's  not  one  real  Egyptian  who  would  not  rather 


*Rosellini    gives   drawings   of   especially   beautiful   war-chariots. 
"Mon.  Stor.,"  i,  pi.  78.    "Mon.  Civ.,"  pi.  122.    "Wilkinson,"  i,  p.  346. 
tSee  note  p.  17. 
JSee  the  battle  of  Gaugamela.    "Curtius,"  iv.    "Arrian,"  lii,  11. 


434  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

fly  from  the  battle-field  than  take  aim  at  one  of  these  sacred 
animals."* 

This  speech,  was  met  by  a  loud  burst  of  laughter;  on  being 
discussed,  however,  it  was  approved  of,  and  ordered  to  be  car- 
ried out  at  once.  The  ingenious  Greek  was  honored  by  receiv- 
ing the  king's  hand  to  kiss,  his  expenses  were  reimbursed  by  a 
magnificent  present,  and  he  was  urged  to  take  a  daughter  of 
some  noble  Persian  family  in  marriage. f  The  king  concluded 
by  inviting  him  to  supper,  but  this  the  Athenian  declined,  on  the 
plea  that  he  must  review  the  Ionian  troops,  with  whom  he  was, 
as  yet,  but  little  acquainted,  and  withdrew. 

At  the  door  of  his  tent  he  found  his  slaves  disputing  with  a 
ragged,  dirty  and  unshaved  old  man,  who  insisted  on  speaking 
with  their  master.  Fancying  he  must  be  a  beggar,  Phanes  threw 
him  a  piece  of  gold ;  the  old  man  did  not  even  stoop  to  pick  it 
up,  but,  holding  the  Athenian  fast  by  his  cloak,  cried:  "I  am 
Aristomachus,  the  Spartan!" 

Cruelly  as  he  was  altered  Phanes  recognized  his  old  friend  at 
once,  ordered  his  feet  to  be  washed  and  his  head  anointed,  gave 
him  wine  and  meat  to  revive  his  strength,  took  his  rags  off 
and  laid  a  new  chiton  over  his  emaciated,  but  still  sinewy,  frame. 

Aristomachus  received  all  in  silence;  and  when  the  food  and 
wine  had  given  him  strength  to  speak  began  the  following  an- 
swer to  Phanes'  eager  questions. 

"On  the  murder  of  Phanes'  son  by  Psamtik  he  had  declared 
his  intention  of  leaving  Egypt  and  inducing  the  troops  under  his 
command  to  do  the  same,  unless  his  friend's  little  daughter  were 
at  once  set  free  and  a  satisfactory  explanation  given  for  the  sud- 
den disappearance  of  the  boy.  Psamtik  promised  to  consider 
the  matter.  Two  days  later  as  Aristomachus  was  going  up  the 
Nile  by  night  to  Memphis,  he  was  seized  by  Egyptian  soldiers, 
bound  and  thrown  into  the  dark  hold  of  a  boat,  which,  after  a 
voyage^of  many  days  and  nights,  cast  anchor  on  a  totally  .un- 
known shore.  The  prisoners  were  taken  out  of  their  dungeon 
and  led  across  a  desert  under  the  burning  sun,  and  past  rocks  of 
strange  forms,  until  they  reached  a  range  of  mountains  with  a 


*See  note  pp.  27-28. 

tThemistocles,  too,  on  coming  to  the  Persian  court,  received  a  high- 
born Persian  wife"  in  marriage.    "Diod.,  xi,  57. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  43J 

colony  of  huts  at  its  base.  These  huts  were  inhabited  by  human 
beings,  who,  with  chains  on  their  feet,  were  driven  every  morn- 
ing into  the  shaft  of  a  mine  and  there  compelled  to  hew  grains 
of  gold  out  of  stony  rock.*  Many  of  these  miserable  men  had 
passed  forty  years  in  this  place,  but  most  died  soon,  overcome 
by  the  hard  work  and  fearful  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  to  which 
they  were  exposed  on  entering  and  leaving  the  mine. 

"My  companions,"  continued  Aristomachus,  "were  partly  con- 
demned murderers  to  whom  mercy  had  been  granted,  men 
guilty  of  high  treason  whose  tongues  had  been  cut  out,  and  oth- 
ers, such  as  myself,  whom  the  king  had  reason  to  fear.  Three 
months  I  worked  among  this  set,  submitting  to  the  strokes  of 
the  overseer,  fainting  under  the  fearful  heat,  and  stiffening  under 
the  cold  dews  of  night.  I  felt  as  if  picked  out  for  death,  and 
only  kept  alive  by  the  hope  of  vengeance.  It  happened,  how- 
ever, by  the  mercy  of  the  gods,  that  at  the  feast  of  Pacht,  our 
guards,  as  is  the  custom  of  the  Egyptians,  drank  so  freely  as  to 
fall  into  a  deep  sleep,  during  which  I  and  a  young  Jew,  who  has 
been  deprived  of  his  right  hand  for  having  used  false  weights 
in  trade,  managed  to  escape  unperceived.  Zeus  Lacedaemonius 

*"Diodorus"  (iii,  12)  describes  the  compulsory  work  in  the  gold 
mines  with  great  minuteness.  The  convicts  were  either  prisoners 
taken  in  war,  or  people  whom  despotism  in  its  blind  fury  found  it  ex- 
pedient to  put  out  of  the  way.  The  mines  lay  in  the  plain  of  Koptos, 
not  far  from  the  Red  Sea.  Traces  of  them  have  been  discovered  in 
modern  times.  Interesting  inscriptions  of  the  time  of  Rameses  the 
Great  (fourteen  centuries  B.  C.)  referring  to  the  gold  mines  have  been 
found,  one  at  Radesieh,  the  other  at  Kuban,  and  have  been  published 
and  deciphered  in  Europe.  (Lepsius,  "Denkm.  Abth.,"  iii,  139-141.) 
The  Stela  of  Kuban,  first  edited  by  Prisse  d'  Avennes,  "Mon.  Egypte," 
pi.  21,  are  treated  by  Birch,  "Archaeologia,"  part  34.  Also  by  Chabes 
in  his  publication— "Les  Inscriptions  des  Mines  d'or,"  Paris,  1862— 
accompanied  by  an  exact  photograph.  The  subject  of  both  inscrip- 
tions is  the  improvement  of  the  road  to  the  gold  mines  in  the  desert 
between  Kuban  and  the  Red  Sea  by  the  introduction  of  drinking- 
water.  There  is  a  ve*ry  interesting  papyrus  in  the  Turin  museum 
connected  with  this  subject,  which  has  a  map  giving  a  most  remark- 
able outline  of  the  mineral  region  spoken  of  in  the  two  Stelae.  Chabas 
has  a  first-rate  colored  fac-simile  of  this.  (It  was  published  in  Lep- 
sius, "Auswahl  von  Urkunden  des  Aegyptischen  Alterthums,".in  184-, 
taf.  22.  Rightly  estimated  by  Birch  and  in  Chabas'  publication.)  The 
mountains  containing  gold  are  colored  red  and  the  words  "tu  en  nub' 
(gold  mountain)  written  over  them  in  the  hieratic  character.  be< 
Ebers,  "Aegypten,"  p.  269  and  following. 


436  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

and  the  great  god  whom  this  young  man  worshiped  helped  us 
in  our  need,  and,  though  we  often  heard  the  voices  of  our  pur- 
suers, they  never  succeeded  in  capturing  us.  I  had  taken  a  bow 
from  one  of  our  guards;  with  this  we  obtained  food,  and  when 
no  game  was  to  be  found  we  lived  on  roots,  fruits  and  birds' 
eggs.  The  sun  and  stars  showed  us  our  road.  We  knew  that 
the  gold  mines  were  not  far  from  the  Red  Sea  and  lay  to  the 
south  of  Memphis.  It  was  not  long  before  we  reached  the  coast 
and  then,  pressing  onward  in  a  northerly  direction,  fell  in  with 
some  friendly  mariners,  who  took  care  of  us  until  we  were  taken 
up  by  an  Arabian  boat.  The  young  Jew  understood  the  lan- 
guage spoken  by  the  crew,  and  in  their  care  we  came  to  Ezion- 
geber,  in  the  land  of  Edom.  There  we  heard  that  Cambyses 
was  coming  with  an  immense  army  against  Egypt,  and  traveled 
as  far  as  Harma  under  the  protection  of  an  Amalekite  caravan 
bringing  water  to  the  Persian  army.  From  thence  I  \vent  on  to- 
Pelusium  in  the  company  of  some  stragglers  from  the  Asiatic 
army,  who  now  and  then  allowed  me  a  seat  on  their  horses,  and 
here  I  heard  that  you  had  accepted  a  high  command  in  Cam- 
byses' army.  I  have  kept  my  vow,  I  have  been  true  to  my  na- 
tion in  Egypt;  now  it  is  your  turn  to  help  old  Aristomachus 
in  gaining  the  only  thing  he  still  cares  for — revenge  on  his  per- 
secutors." 

"And  that  you  shall  have!"  cried  Phanes,  grasping  the  old 
man's  hand.  "You  shall  have  the  command  of  the  heavy-armed 
Milesian  troops  and  liberty  to  commit  what  carnage  you  like 
among  the  ranks  of  our  enemies.  This,  however,  is  only  paying 
half  the  debt  I  owe  you.  Praised  be  the  gods,  who  have  put  it 
in  my  power  to  make  you  happy  by  one  simple  sentence.  Know 
then,  Aristomachus,  that  only  a  few  days  after  your  disappear- 
ance, a  ship  arrived  in  the  harbor  of  Naukratis  from  Sparta.  It 
was  guided  by  your  own  noble  son  and  expressly  sent  by  the 
ephori*  in  your  honor — to  bring  the  father  of  two  Olympic 
victors  back  to  his  native  land." 

The  old  man's  limbs  trembled  visibly  at  these  words,  his  eyes 
filled  with  tears  and  he  murmured  a  prayer.  Then  smiting  on 
his  forehead,  he  cried  in  a  voice  trembling  with  feeling:  "Now 
it  is  fulfilled!  now  it  has  become  a  fact!  If  I  doubted  the  words 

*See  note  p.  45. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  437 

of  thy  priestess,  oh,  Phoebus  Apollo!   pardon  my  sin!    What 
was  the  promise  of  the  oracle? 

"  'If  once  the  warrior  hosts  from  the  snow-topped  mountains  de- 
scending 

Come  to  the  fields  of  the  stream  watering  richly  the  plain, 
Then  shall  the  lingering  boat  to  the  beckoning  meadows  convey  thee 
Which  to  the  wandering  foot  peace  and  a  home  can  afford. 
When  those  warriors  come,  from  the  snow-topped  mountains  de- 
scending, 
Then  will  the  powerful  five  grant  thee  what  long  they  refused.' 

"The  promise  of  the  god  is  fulfilled.  Now  I  may  return  home 
and  I  will;  but  first  I  raise  my  hands  to  Dikee,  the  unchanging 
goddess  of  justice,  and  implore  her  not  to  deny  me  the  pleasure 
of  revenge." 

"The  day  of  vengeance  will  dawn  to-morrow,"  said  Phanes, 
joining  in  the  old  man's  prayer.  "To-morrow  I  shall  slaughter 
the  victims  for  the  dead — for  my  son — and  will  take  no  rest 
until  Cambyses  has  pierced  the  heart  of  Egypt  with  the  arrows 
which  I  have  cut  for  him.  Come,  my  friend,  let  me  take  you  to 
the  king.  One  man  like  you  can  put  a  whole  troop  of  Egyptians 
to  flight." 


It  was  night.  The  Persian  soldiers,  their  position  being  un- 
fortified, were  in  order  of  battle,  ready  to  meet  any  unexpected 
attack.  The  foot-soldiers  stood  leaning  on  their  shields,  the 
horsemen  held  their  horses  saddled  and  bridled  near  the  camp- 
fires.  Cambyses  was  riding  through  the  ranks,  encouraging 
his  troops  by  words  and  looks.*  Only  one  part  of  the  army  was 
not  yet  ranged  in  order  of  battle — the  center.  It  was  composed 
of  the  Persian  bodyguard,  the  apple-bearers,  immortals  and  the 
king's  own  relatives,  who  were  always  led  into  battle  by  the  king 
in  person. 

The  Ionian  Greeks,  too,  had  gone  to  rest,  at  Phanes'  com- 
mand. He  wanted  to  keep  his  men  fresh,  and  allowed  them  to 
sleep  in  their  armor,  while  he  kept  watch.  Aristomachus  was 
welcomed  with  shouts  of  joy  by  the  Greeks,  and  kindly  by  Cam- 
byses, who  assigned  him  at  the  head  of  one-half  the  Greek 
troops,  a  place  to  the  left  of  the  center  of  attack,  while  Phanes, 

*Battle  of  Gangamela  or  Arbela.    "Curtius,"  iv,  14;  12. 


438  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

with  the  other  half,  had  his  place  at  the  right.  The  king  himself 
was  to  take  the  lead  at  the  head  of  ten  thousand  immortals,  pre- 
ceded by  the  blue,  red  and  gold  imperial  banner*  and  the  stand- 
ard of  Kawe.f  Bartja  was  to  lead  the  regiment  of  mounted 
guards  numbering  a  thousand  men,  and  that  division  of  the  cav- 
alry which  was  entirely  clothed  in  mail. 

Croesus  commanded  a  body  of  troops  whose  duty  it  was  to 
guard  the  camp  with  its  immense  treasures,  the  wives  of  Cam- 
byses'  nobles,  and  his  own  mother  and  sister. 

At  last  Mithras  appeared  and  shed  his  light  upon  the  earth ; 
the  spirits  of  the  night  retired  to  their  dens,  and  the  Magi  stirred 
up  the  sacred  fire  which  had  been  carried  before  the  army  the 
whole  way  from  Babylon,  until  it  became  a  gigantic  flame. 
They  and  the  king  united  in  feeding  it  with  costly  perfumes; 
Cambyses  offered  the  sacrifice  and,  holding  the  while  a  golden 
bowl  high  in  the  air,  besought  the  gods  to  grant  him  victory 
and  glory.  He  then  gave  the  pass-word,  "Auramazda,  the  help- 
er and  guide,"  and  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  guards,  who 
went  into  the  battle  with  wreaths  on  their  tiaras.  The  Greeks 
offered  their  own  sacrifices,  and  shouted  with  delight  on  hearing 
that  the  omens  were  auspicious.  Their  war-cry  was  "Hebe."! 

Meanwhile,  the  Egyptian  priests  had  begun  their  day,  also, 
with  prayer  and  sacrifice,  and  then  placed  their  army  in  order 
of  battle. 

Psamtik,  now  king  of  Egypt,  led  the  center.  He  was  mount- 
ed on  a  golden  chariot;  the  trappings  of  his  horses  were  of  gold 
and  purple,  and  plumes  of  ostrich  feathers  nodded  on  their 
proud  heads.  He  wore  the  double  crown  of  Upper  and  Lower 
Egypt,  and  the  charioteer  who  stood  at  his  left  hand  holding  the 
reins  and  whip  was  descended  from  one  of  the  noblest  Egyptian 
families. § 

"These  are  the  colors  of  the  imperial  banner  according  to  Firdusi. 

tThis  standard  consisted  of  the  leathern  apron  of  a  bold  and  in- 
trepid smith,  who,  as  related  in  the  Persian  legend,  roused  the  nation 
to  rebellion  against  the  malignant  Zohaks,  the  scourges  of  the  em- 
pire, and  helped  Feridun  to  overthrow  them. 

JTaken  from  the  various  descriptions  by  the  ancient  writers  of  bat- 
tles in  which  the  Greeks  and  Persians  fought  together.  "Hebe"  was 
the  Greek  pass-word  at  the  battle  of  Mykale.  "Herod.,"  ix  98. 

§The  manner  in  which  the  kings  behaved  to  their  charioteers  proves 
that  the  latter  must  have  belonged  to  the  aristocracy.  See  the  picture 
of  Rameses  and  his  charioteer  at  Thebes.  "Wilkinson,"  i,  338.  We 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  439 

The  Hellenic  and  Karian  mercenaries  were  to  fight  at  the  left 
of  the  center,  the  horse  at  the  extreme  of  each  wing,  and  the 
Egyptian  and  Ethiopian  foot  were  stationed,  six  ranks  deep,  on 
the  right  and  left  of  the  armed  chariots  and  Greek  mercenaries. 

Psamtik  drove  through  the  ranks  of  his  army,  giving  encour- 
aging and  friendly  words  to  all  the  men.  He  drew  up  before 
the  Greek  division,  and  addressed  them  thus:  "Heroes  of  Cy- 
prus and  Libya!  your  deeds  in  arms  are  well  known  to  me,  and 
I  rejoice  in  the  thought  of  sharing  your  glory  to-day  and  crown- 
ing you  with  fresh  laurels.  Ye  have  no  need  to  fear  that  in  the 
day  of  victory  I  shall  curtail  your  liberties.  Malicious  tongues 
have  whispered  that  this  is  all  ye  have  to  expect  from  me;  but  I 
tell  you  that  if  we  conquer  fresh  favors  will  be  shown  to  you 
and  your  descendants;  I  shall  call  you  the  supporters  of  my 
throne.  Ye  are  fighting  to-day  not  for  me  alone,  but  for  the 
freedom  of  your  own  distant  homes.  It  is  easy  to  perceive  that 
Cambyses,  once  lord  of  Egypt,  will  stretch  out  his  rapacious 
hand  over  your  beautiful  Hellas  and  its  islands.  I  need  only  to 
remind  you  that  they  lie  between  Egypt  and  your  Asiatic  breth- 
ren who  are  already  groaning  under  the  Persian  yoke.  Your 
acclamations  prove  that  ye  agree  with  me  already,  but  I  must  ask 
for  a  still  longer  hearing.  It  is  my  duty  to  tell  you  who  has  sold, 
not  only  Egypt,  but  his  own  country  to  the  king  of  Persia  in 
return  for  immense  treasures.  The  man's  name  is  Phanes!  You 
are  angry  and  inclined  to  doubt.  I  swear  to  you  that  this  very 
Phanes  has  accepted  Cambyses'  gold,  and  promised  not  only  to 
be  his  guide  to  Egypt,  but  to  open  the  gates  of  your  own  Greek 
cities  to  him.  He  knows  the  country  and  the  people,  and  can 
be  bribed  to  every  perfidy.  Look  at  him !  there  he  is  walking  by 
the  side  of  the  king.  See  how  he  bows  before  him!  I  thought 
I  had  heard  once  that  the  Greeks  only  prostrated  themselves  be- 
fore their  gods.  But  of  course  when  a  man  sells  his  country  he 
ceases  to  be  a  citizen.  Am  I  not  right?  Ye  scorn  to  call  so  base 
a  creature  by  the  name  of  countryman?  Yes?  Then  I  will  de- 
liver the  wretch's  daughter  into  your  hands.  Do  what  ye  will 

possess,  in  addition  to  this,  a  papyrus  containing  a  description  of  the 
trials  which  a  young  Egyptian  chariot-soldier  had  to  go  through.  We 
see  him  at  the  military  academy,  and,  when  that  period  of  his  life  is 
over,  he  receives  his  horses  out  of  the  royal  stable  from  the  hands  of 
the  Pharaoh  himself.  This  favor  could  only  have  been  shown  to  the 
chosen  few. 


440  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

with  the  child  of  such  a  villain.  Crown  her  with  wreaths  of 
roses,  fall  down  before  her  if  it  please  you,  but  do  not  forget 
that  she  belongs  to  a  man  who  has  disgraced  the  name  of  Hellen 
and  has  betrayed  his  countrymen  and  country?" 

As  he  finished  speaking  the  men  raised  a  wild  cry  of  rage  and 
took  possession  of  the  trembling  child.  A  soldier  held  her  up  so 
that  her  father — the  troops  not  being  more  than  a  bow-shot 
apart — could  see  all  that  happened.  At  the  same  moment  an 
Egyptian,  who  afterward  earned  celebrity  through  the  loudness 
of  his  voice,*  cried:  "Look  here,  Athenian!  see  how  treachery 
and  corruption  are  rewarded  in  this  country!"  A  bowl  of  wine 
stood  near,  provided  by  the  king,  from  which  the  soldiers  had 
just  been  drinking  themselves  into  intoxication.  A  Karian 
seized  it,  plunged  his  sword  into  the  innocent  child's  breast  and 
let  the  blood  flow  into  the  bowl,  filled  a  goblet  with  the  awful 
mixture  and  drained  it,  as  if  drinking  to  the  health  of  the  wretch- 
ed father.  Phanes  stood  watching  the  scene  as  if  struck  into  a 
statue  of  cold  stone.  The  rest  oi  the  soldiers  then  fell  upon  the 
bowl  like  madmen,  and  wild  beasts  could  not  have  lapped  up 
the  foul  drink  with  greater  eagerness. f 

In  the  same  moment  Psamtik  triumphantly  shot  off  his  first 
arrow  into  the  Persian  ranks. 

The  mercenaries  flung  the  child's  dead  body  onto  the  ground ; 
drunk  with  her  blood  they  raised  their  battle-song  and  rushed 
into  the  strife  far  ahead  of  their  Egyptian  comrades. 

But  now  the  Persian  ranks  began  to  move.  Phanes,  furious 
with  pain  and  rage,  led  on  his  heavy-armed  troops,  indignant, 
too,  at  the  brutal  barbarity  of  their  countrymen,  and  dashed  into 
the  ranks  of  those  very  soldiers  whose  love  he  had  tried  to  de- 
serveMuring  ten  years  of  faithful  leadership. 

At  noon,  fortune  seemed  to  be  favoring  the  Egyptians;  but  at 
sunset  the  Persians  had  the  advantage,  and  when  the  full  moon 
rose,  the  Egyptians  were  flying  wildly  from  the  battle-field,  per- 
ishing in  the  marshes  and  in  the  arm  of  the  Nile  which  flowed 
behind  their  position,  or  being  cut  to  pieces  by  the  swords  of 
their  enemies. 

Twenty  thousand  Persians  and  fifty  thousand  Egyptians  lay 
dead  on  the  blood-stained  sea-sand.  The  wounded,  drowned, 

*"Herod.,"  iv.  141. 

tHerodotus  tells  this  fearful  tale  (iii,  11). 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  441 

and  prisoners  could  scarcely  be  numbered.*  Psamtik  had  been 
one  of  the  last  to  fly.  He  was  well-mounted,  and,  with  a  few 
thousand  faithful  followers,  reached  the  opposite  bank  of  the 
Nile  and  made  for  Memphis,  the  well-fortified  city  of  the  pyr- 
amids. 

Of  the  Greek  mercenaries  very  few  survived,  so  furious  had 
been  Phanes'  revenge,  and  so  well  had  he  been  supported  by 
his  lonians.  Ten  thousand  Karians  were  taken  captive  and  the 
murderer  of  his  little  child  was  killed  by  Phanes'  own  hand. 

Aristomachus,  too,  in  spite  of  his  wooden  leg,  had  performed 
miracles  of  bravery;  but,  notwithstanding  all  their  efforts, 
neither  he  nor  any  of  his  confederates  in  revenge,  had  succeeded 
in  taking  Psamtik  prisoner. 

When  the  battle  was  over  the  Persians  returned  in  triumph 
to  their  tents,  to  be  warmly  welcomed  by  Croesus  and  the  war- 
riors and  priests  who  had  remained  behind,  and  to  celebrate  their 
victory  by  prayers  and  sacrifices. 

The 'next  morning  Cambyses  assembled  his  generals  and  re- 
warded them  with  different  tokens  of  distinction,  such  as  costly 
robes,  golden  chains,  rings,  swords,  and  stars  formed  of  precious 
stones. f  Gold  and  silver  coins  were  distributed  among  the  com- 
mon soldiers. 

The  principal  attack  of  the  Egyptians  had  been  directed 
against  the  center  of  the  Persian  army,  where  Cambyses  com- 
manded in  person ;  and  with  such  effect  that  the  guards  had  al- 
ready begun  to  give  way.  At  that  moment  Bartja,  arriving  with 
his  troop  of  horsemen,  had  put  fresh  courage  into  the  wavering, 
had  fought  like  a  lion  himself,  and  by  his  bravery  and  prompti- 
tude decided  the  day  in  favor  of  the  Persians. 

The  troops  were  exultant  in  their  joy;  they  shouted  his  praises 
as  "the  conqueror  of  Pelusium"  and  the  ''best  of  the  Achaemeni- 
dae." 

Their  cries  reached  the  king's  ears  and  made  him  very  angry. 
He  knew  he  had  been  fighting  at  the  risk  of  life,  with  real 


*"Herod.,"  iii,  12.  Ktesias,  "Persica,"  9.  In  ancient  history  the 
loss  of  the  conquered  is  always  far  greater  than  that  of  the  conquerors. 
To  a  certain  extent  this  holds  good  in  the  present  day,  but  the  pro- 
portion is  decidedly  not  so  unfavorable  for  the  vanquished.  We  would 
remind  our  readers  of  the  campaign  of  1866. 

f'Herod .,"  iii,  130;  viii,  118.    Xenoph.,  "Cyrop.,"  viii,  3. 


442  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

courage  and  the  strength  of  a  giant,  and  yet  the  day  would  have 
been  lost  if  this  boy  had  not  presented  him  with  the  victory. 
The  brother  who  had  embittered  his  days  of  happy  love  was  now 
to  rob  him  of  half  his  military  glory.  Cambyses  felt  that  he 
hated  Bartja,  and  his  fist  clinched  involuntarily  as  he  saw  the 
young  hero  looking  so  happy  in  the  consciousness  of  his  own 
well-earned  success. 

Phanes  had  been  wounded  and  went  to  his  tent;  Aristom- 
achus  lay  near  him,  dying. 

"The  oracle  has  deceived  me,  after  all,"  he  murmured.  "I 
shall  die  without  seeing  my  country  again." 

"The  oracle  spoke  the  truth,"  answered  Phanes.  "Were  not 
the  last  words  of  the  Pythia — 

"  'Then  shall  the  lingering  boat  to  the  beckoning  meadows  convey 

thee, 
Which  to  the  wandering  foot  peace  and  a  home  will  afford?' 

"Can  you  misunderstand  their  meaning?  They  speak  of 
Charon's  lingering  boat,  which  will  convey  you  to  your  last 
home,  to  the  one  great  resting  place  for  all  wanderers — the  king- 
dom of  hades." 

"Yes,  my  friend,  you  are  right  there.    I  am  going  to  hades." 

"And  the  five  have  granted  you,  before  death,  what  they  so 
long  refused — the  return  to  Lacedaemon.  You  ought  to  be 
thankful  to  the  gods  for  granting  you  such  sons  and  vengeance 
on  your  enemies.  When  my  wound  is  healed  I  shall  go  to 
Greece  and  tell  your  son  that  his  father  died  a  glorious  death 
and  was  carried  to  the  grave  on  his  shield,  as  beseems  a  hero." 

"Yes,  do  so,  and  give  him  my  shield  as  a  remembrance  of  his 
old  father.  There  is  no  need  to  exhort  him  to  virtue." 

"When  Psamtik  is  in  our  power  shall  I  tell  what  share  you  had 
in  his  overthrow?" ' 

"No;  he  saw  me  before  he  took  to  flight,  and,  at  the  unex- 
pected vision,  his  bow  fell  from  his  hand.  This  was  taken  by 
his  friends  as  a  signal  for  flight,  and  they  turned  their  horses 
from  the  battle." 

"The  gods  ordain  that  bad  men  shall  be  ruined  by  their  own 
deeds.  Psamtik  lost  courage,  for  he  must  have  believed  that  the 
very  spirits  of  the  lower  world  were  fighting  against  him." 

"We  mortals  gave  him  quite  enough  to  do.     The  Persians 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  413 

fought  well.  But  the  battle  would  have  been  lost  without  the 
guards  and  our  troops." 

"Without  doubt/' 

"I  thank  thee,  O  Zeus  Lacedaemonius." 

"You  are  praying." 

"I  am  praising  the  gods  for  allowing  me  to  die  at  ease  as  to 
my  country.  These  heterogeneous  masses  can  never  be  danger- 
ous to  Greece.  Ho,  physician,  when  am  I  likely  to  die?" 

The  Milesian  physician,  who  had  accompanied  the  Greek 
troops  to  Egypt,  pointed  to  the  arrow-head  sticking  fast  in  his 
breast  and  said,  with  a  sad  smile:  "You  have  only  a  few  hours 
more  to  live.  If  I  were  to  draw  the  arrow  from  your  wound 
you  would  die  at  once." 

The  Spartan  thanked  him,  said  farewell  to  Phanes,  sent  a 
greeting  to  Rhodopis,  and  then,  before  they  could  prevent  him, 
drew  the  arrow  from  the  wound  with  an  unflinching  hand.  A 
few  moments  later  Aristomachus  was  dead. 

The  same  day  a  Persian  embassy  set  out  for  Memphis  on 
board  one  of  the  Lesbian  vessels.  It  was  commissioned  to  de- 
mand from  Psamtik  the  surrender  of  his  own  person  and  of  the 
city  at  discretion.  Cambyses  followed,  having  first  sent  off 
a  division  of  his  army  under  Megabyzus  to  invest  Sais. 

At  Heliopolis  he  was  met  by  deputations  from  the  Greek  in- 
habitants of  Naukratis  and  the  Libyans,  praying  for  peace  and 
his  protection  and  bringing  a  golden  wreath  and  other  rich  pres- 
ents. Cambyses  received  them  graciously  and  assured  them  of 
his  friendship;  but  repulsed  the  messengers  from  Cyrene  and 
Barka  indignantly,  and  flung,  with  his  own  hand,  their  tribute 
of  five  hundred  silver  minae*  among  the  soldiers,  disdaining  to 
accept  so  contemptible  an  offering. 

In  Heliopolis  he  also  heard  that,  at  the  approach  of  his  em- 
bassy, the  inhabitants  of  Memphis  had  flocked  to  the  shore, 
bored  a  hole  in  the  bottom  of  the  ship,  torn  his  messengers  in 
pieces,  without  distinction,  as  wild  beasts  would  tear  raw  flesh, 
and  dragged  them  into  the  fortress.f  On  hearing  this  he  cried, 
angrily:  "I  swear,  by  Mithras,  that  these  murdered  men  shall 
be  paid  for — ten  lives  for  one." 

*One  thousand  ejght  hundred  and  seventy-five  pounds  sterling. 
"Herod.,"  iii,  3. 
f'Herod.,"  iii,  13: 


444  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

Two  days  later  and  Cambyses,  with  his  army,  stood  before 
the  gates  of  Memphis.  The  siege  was  short,  as  the  garrison  was 
far  too  small  for  the  city,  and  the  citizens  were  discouraged  by 
the  fearful  defeat  at  Pelusium. 

King  Psamtik  himself  came  out  to  Cambyses,  accompanied 
by  his  principal  nobles,  in  rent  garments,  and  with  every  token 
of  mourning.  Cambyses  received  him  coldly  and  silently,  order- 
ing him  and  his  followers  to  be  guarded  and  removed.  He 
treated  Ladice,  the  widow  of  Amasis,  who  appeared  at  the  same 
time  as  her  step-son,  with  consideration,  and,  at  the  intercession 
of  Phanes,  to  whom  she  had  always  shown  favor,  allowed  her  to 
return  to  her  native  town  of  Cyrene  under  safe  conduct.  She 
remained  there  until  the  fall  of  her  nephew,  Arcesilaus  III,  and 
the  flight  of  her  sister,  Pheretime,  when  she  betook  herself  to 
Anthylla,  the  town  in  Egypt  which  belonged  to  her,  and  where 
she  passed  a  quiet,  solitary  existence,  dying  at  a  great  age.* 

Cambyses  not  only  scorned  to  avenge  the  imposture  which 
had  been  practiced  on  him  on  a  woman,  but,  as  a  Persian,  had 
far  too  much  respect  for  a  mother,  and  especially  for  the  mother 
of  a  king,  to  injure  Ladice  in  any  way. 

While  he  was  engaged  in  the  siege  of  Sais,  Psamtik  passed 
his  imprisonment  in  the  palace  of  the  Pharaohs,  treated  in  every 
respect  as  a  king,  but  strictly  guarded. 

Among  those  members  of  the  upper  class  who  had  incited 
the  people  to  resistance,  Neithotep,  the  high-priest  of  Neith,  had 
taken  the  foremost  place.  He  was,  therefore,  sent  to  Memphis 
and  put  in  close  confinement  with  one  hundred  of  his  unhappy 
confederates.  The  larger  number  of  the  Pharaoh's  court,  on  the 
other  hand,  did  homage  voluntarily  to  Cambyses  at  Sais,  enti- 
tled him  Ramestu,  "child  of  the  sun,"  and  suggested  that  he 
should  cause  himself  to  be  crowned  king  of  Upper  and  Lower 
Egypt,  with  all  the  necessary  formalities,  and  admitted  into  the 
priestly  caste,  according  to  ancient  custom.  By  the  advice  of 
Croesus  and  Phanes  Cambyses  gave  in  to  these  proposals, 
though  much  against  his  own  will;  he  went  so  far,  indeed,  as  to 
offer  sacrifice  in  the  temple  of  Neith,  and  allowed  the  newly  cre- 


*According  to  "Athenaeus,"  i,  25,  Anthylla  belonged  to  the  queen 
for  the  time  being.  For  Cyrene  and  Aroesilaus  see  "Herod.,"  iv,  163- 
165, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  445 

atod  high-priest  of  the  goddess  to  give  him  a  superficial  insight 
into  the  nature  of  the  mysteries.  Some  of  the  courtiers  he  re- 
tained near  himself  and  promoted  different  administrative  func- 
tionaries to  high  posts;  the  commander  of  Amasis'  Nile  fleet 
succeeded  so  well  in  gaining  the  king's  favor  as  to  be  appointed 
one  of  those  who  ate  at  the  royal  table.*  On  leaving  Sais  Cam- 
byses  placed  Megabyzus  in  command  of  the  city;  but  scarcely 
had  the  king  quitted  their  walls  than  the  smothered  rage  of  the 
people  broke  forth;  they  murdered  the  Persian  sentinels,  poi- 
soned the  wells,  and  set  the  stables  of  the  cavalry  on  fire.  Meg- 
abyzus at  once  applied  to  the  king,  representing  that  such  hostile 
acts,  if  not  repressed  by  fear,  might  soon  be  followed  by  open 
rebellion.  "The  two  thousand  noble  youths  from  Memphis, 
whom  you  have  destined  to  death  as  an  indemnification  for  our 
murdered  ambassadors,"  said  he,  "ought  to  be  executed  at  once ; 
and  it  would  do  no  harm  if  the  son  of  Psamtik  was  added  to  the 
number,  as  he  can  some  day  become  a  rallying  center  for  the 
rebels.  I  hear  that  the  daughters  of  the  dethroned  king  and  the 
high-priest  Neithotep  have  to  carry  water  for  the  baths  of  the 
noble  Phanes." 

The  Athenian  answered,  with  a  smile:  "Cambyses  has  al- 
lowed me  to  employ  these  aristocratic  female  attendants,  my 
lord,  at  my  own  request." 

"But  has  forbidden  you  to  touch  the  life  of  one  member  of  the 
royal  house,"  added  Cambyses.  "None  but  a  king  has  the 
right  to  punish  kings." 

Phanes  bowed.  The  king  turned  to  Megabyzus  and  ordered 
him  to  have  the  prisoners  executed  the  very  next  day,  as  an 
example.  He  would  decide  the  fate  of  the  young  prince  later; 
but  at  all  events  he  was  to  be  taken  to  the  place  of  execution  with 
the  rest.  "We  must  show  them,"  he  concluded,  "that  we  know 


*On  a  statue  in  the  Gregorian  museum  in  the  Vatican  there  is  an 
inscription  giving  an  account  of  Cambyses'  sojourn  at  Sais,  which 
agrees  with  the  facts  related  in  our  text.  He  was  lenient  to  his  con- 
quered subjects,  and  probably  in  order  to  secure  his  position  as  the 
lawful  Pharaoh,  yielded  to  the  wishes  of  the  priests,  was  even  initiated 
into  the  mysteries  and  did  much  for  the  temple  of  Neith.  His  adop- 
tion of  the  name  Ramestti  is  also  confirmed  by  this  statue.  E.  de 
Rouge,  "Memoire  sur  la  Statuette  Naophore  du  Musee  Gregorien,  au 
Vatican.  Revue  Archeol.,"  1851.  Brugsch,  "Geograph.  Inschr.,"  i,  p. 
247. 


446  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

how  to  meet  all  their  hostile  manifestations  with  sufficient 
rigor." 

Croesus  ventured  to  plead  for  the  innocent  boy.  "Calm  your- 
self, old  friend,"  said  Cambyses  with  a  smile;  "the  child  is  not 
dead  yet,  and  perhaps  will  be  as  well  off  with  us  as  your  own  son, 
who  fought  so  well  at  Pelusium.  I  confess  I  should  like  to 
know  whether  Psamtik  bears  his  fate  as -calmly  and  bravely  as 
you  did  twenty-five  years  ago." 

"That  we  can  easily  discover  by  putting  him  on  trial,"  said 
Phanes.  "Let  him  be  brought  into  the  palace-court  to-morrow, 
and  let  the  captives  and  the  condemned  be  led  past  him.  Then 
we  shall  see  whether  he  is  a  man  or  a  coward." 

"Be  it  so,"  answered  Cambyses.  "I  will  conceal  myself  and 
watch  him  unobserved.  You,  Phanes,  will  accompany  me,  to 
tell  me  the  name  and  rank  of  each  of  the  captives." 

The  next  morning  Phanes  accompanied  the  king  onto  a 
balcony  which  ran  round  the  great  court  of  the  palace — the 
court  we  have  already  described  as  being  planted  with  trees. 
The  listeners  were  hidden  by  a  grove  of  flowering  shrubs,  but 
they  could  see  every  movement  that  took  place  and  hear  every 
word  that  was  spoken  beneath  them.  They  saw  Psamtik,  sur- 
rounded by  a  few  of  his  former  companions.  He  was  leaning 
against  a  palm  tree,  his  eyes  fixed  gloomily  on  the  ground, 
as  his  daughters  entered  the  court.  The  daughter  of  Neitho- 
tep  was  with  them,  and  some  more  young  girls,  all  dressed 
as  slaves;  they  were  carrying  pitchers  of  water.  At  sight  of 
the  king  they  uttered  such  a  .loud  cry  of  anguish  as  to  wake 
him  from  his  reverie.  He  looked  up,  recognized  the  miserable 
girls,  and  bowed  his  head  lower  than  before;  but  only  for  a 
moment.  Drawing  himself  up  quickly,  he  asked  his  eldest 
daughter  for  whom  she  was  carrying  water.  On  hearing  that 
she  was  forced  to  do  the  work  of  a  slave  for  Phanes  he  turned 
deadly  pale,  nodded  his  head,  and  cried  to  the  girls,  ''go  on." 

A  few  minutes  later  the  captives  were  led  into  the  court 
with  ropes  round  their  necks  and  bridles  in  their  mouths.* 
At  the  head  of  the  train  was  the  little  prince  Necho.  He 
stretched  his  hands  out  to  his  father,  begging  him  to  punish 

"This  statement  of  Herodotus  (iii,  14)  is  confirmed  by  the  monu- 
ments, on  which  we  often  see  representations  of  captives  being  led 
along  with  ropes  round  their  necks.  What  follows  is  taken  entirely 
from  the  same  passage  in  Herodotus. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  447 

the  bad  foreigners  who  wanted  to  kill  him.  At  this  sight  the 
Egyptians  wept  in  their  exceeding  great  misery;  but  Psam- 
tik's  eyes  were  dry.  He  bowed  his  tearless  face  nearly  to  the 
earth  and  waved  his  child  a  last  farewell. 

After  a  short  interval  the  captives  taken  in  Sais  entered. 
Among  them  was  Neithotep,  the  once  powerful  high-priest, 
clothed  in  rags  and  moving  with  difficulty  by  the  help  of  a 
staff.  At  the  entrance-gate  he  raised  his  eyes  and  caught 
sight  of  his  former  pupil  Darius.  Reckless  of  all  the  spec- 
tators around  him,  he  went  straight  up  to  the  young  man, 
poured  out  the  story  of  his  needs,  besought  his  help,  and 
ended  by  begging  an  alms.  Darius  complied  at  once,  and  by 
so  doing  induced  others  of  the  Achaemenidae,  who  were  stand- 
ing by,  to  hail  the  old  man  jokingly  and  throw  him  little  pieces 
of  money  which  he  picked  up  laboriously  and  thankfully  from 
the  ground. 

At  this  sight  Psamtik  wept  aloud  and  smote  upon  his  fore- 
head, calling  on  the  name  of  his  friend  in  a  voice  full  of  woe. 

Cambyses  was  so  astonished  at  this  that  he  came  forward  to 
the  balustrade  of  the  veranda,  and,  pushing  the  flowers  aside, 
exclaimed:  "Explain  thyself,  thou  strange  man;  the  misfor- 
tunes of  a  beggar,  not  even  akin  to  thee,  move  thy  compas- 
sion, but  thou  canst  behold  thy  son  on  the  way  to  execution 
and  thy  daughters  in  hopeless  misery  without  shedding  a  tear 
or  uttering  a  lament!" 

Psamtik  looked  up  at  his  conqueror  and  answered:  "The 
misfortunes  of  my  own  house,  O  son  of  Cyrus,  are  too  great 
for  tears ;  but  I  may  be  permitted  to  weep  over  the  afflictions 
of  a  friend,  fallen,  in  his  old  age,  from  the  height  of  happiness 
and  influence  into  the  most  miserable  beggary." 

Cambyses'  face  expressed  his  approval,  and  on  looking  round 
he  saw  that  his  was  not  the  only  eye  which  was  rilled  with  tears. 
Croesus,  Bartja  and  all  the  Persians — nay,  even  Phanes  him- 
self, who  had  served  as  interpreter  to  the  kings — were  weep- 
ing aloud. 

The  proud  conqueror  was  not  displeased  at  these  signs  of 
'sympathy,  and  turning  to  the  Athenian:  "I  think,  my  Greek 
friend,"  he  said,  "we  may  consider  our  wrongs  as  avenged. 
Rise,  Psamtik,  and  endeavor  to  imitate  yonder  noble  old  man 
(pointing  to  Croesus)  by  accustoming  yourself -to  your  fate. 
Your  father's  fraud  has  been  visited  on  you  and  your  family. 


448  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

The  crown  which  I  have  wrested  from  you  is  the  crown  of 
which  Amasis  deprived  my  wife — my  never-to-be-forgotten 
Nitetis.  For  her  sake  I  began  this  war,  and  for  her  sake  I 
grant  you  now  the  life  of  your  son — she  loved  him.  From 
this  time  forward  you  can  live  undisturbed  at  our  court,  eat 
at  our  table  and  share  the  privileges  of  my  nobles.  Gyges, 
fetch  the  boy  hither.  He  shall  be  brought  up  as  you  were, 
years  ago,  among  the  sons  of  the  Achaemenidae." 

The  Lydian  was  hastening  to  execute  this  delightful  com- 
mission, but  Phanes  stopped  him  before  he  could  reach  the 
door,  and,  placing  himself  proudly  between  the  king  and  the 
trembling,  thankful  Psamtik,  said:  "You  would  be  going  on 
a  useless  errand,  noble  Lydian.  In  defiance  of  your  command, 
my  sovereign,  but  in  virtue  of  the  full  powers  you  once  gave 
me,  I  have  ordered  the  grandson  of  Amasis  to  be  the  execu- 
tioner's first  victim.  You  have  just  heard  the  sound  of  a 
horn;  that  was  the  sign  that  the  last  heir  to  the  Egyptian 
throne  born  on  the  shores  of  the  Nile  has  been  gathered  to  his 
fathers.  I  am  aware  of  the  fate  I  have  to  expect,  Cambyses. 
I  will  not  plead  for  a  life  whose  end  has  been  attained.  Croesus, 
I  understand  your  reproachful  looks.  You  grieve  for  the 
murdered  children.  But  life  is  such  a  web  of  wretchedness 
and  disappointment  that  I  agree  with  your  philosopher  Solon 
in  thinking  those  fortunate  to  whom,  as  in  former  days  to 
Kleobis  and  Biton,*  the  gods  decree  an  early  death.  If  I 
have  ever  been  dear  to  you,  Cambyses — if  my  counsels  have 
been  of  any  use,  permit  me  as  a  last  favor  to  say  a  few  more 
words.  Psamtik  knows  the  causes  that  rendered  us  foes  to 
each  other.  Ye  all,  whose  esteem  is  worth  so  much  to  me, 

*Croesus,  after  having  shown  Solon  his  treasures,  asked  him  whom 
he  held  to  be  the  most  fortunate  of  men,  hoping  to  hear  his  own  name. 
The  sage  first  named  Tellus,  a  famous  citizen  of  Athens,  and  then  the 
brothers,  Kleobis  and  Biton.  These  were  two  handsome  youths,  who 
had  gained  the  prize  for  wrestling,  and  one  day,  when  the  draft  ani- 
mals had  not  returned  from  the  field,  dragged  their  mother  themselves 
to  the  distant  temple,  in  presence  of  the  people.  The  men  of  Argos 
praised  the  strength  of  the  sons — the  women  praised  the  mother  who 
possessed  these  sons.  She,  transported  with  delight  at  her  sons'  deed 
and  the  people's  praise,  went  to  the  statue  of  the  goddess  and  besought 
her  to  give  them  the  best  that  could  fall  to  the  lot  of  men.  When  her 
prayer  was  over  and  the  sacrifice  offered,  the  youths  fell  asleep  and 
never  awoke  again.  They  were  dead.  "Herod.,"  i,  31.  Cicero,  "Tus- 
cul,"  i,  47. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  440 

shall  know  them,  too.  This  man's  father  placed  me  in  his 
son's  stead  at  the  head  of  the  troops  which  had  been  sent  to 
Cyprus.  Where  Psamtik  had  earned  humiliation  I  won  suc- 
cess and  glory.  I  also  became  unintentionally  acquainted  with 
a  secret  w-hich  seriously  endangered  his  chances  of  obtaining 
the  crown;  and  lastly,  I  prevented  his  carrying  off  a  virtuous 
maiden  from  the  house  of  her  grandmother,  an  aged  woman, 
beloved  and  respected  by  all  the  Greeks.  These  are  the  sins 
which  he  has  never  been  able  to  forgive;  these  are  the  grounds 
which  led  him  to  carry  on  war  to  the  death  with  me  directly 
I  had  quitted  his  father's  service.  The  struggle  is  decided 
now.  My  innocent  children  have  been  murdered  at  thy  com- 
mand, and  I  have  been  pursued  like  a  wild  beast.  That  has 
been  thy  revenge.  But  mine! — I  have  deprived  thee  of  thy 
throne  and  reduced*  thy  people  to  bondage.  Thy  daughter 
I  have  called  my  slave,  thy  son's  death-warrant  was  pro- 
nounced by  my  lips,  and  my  eyes  have  seen  the  maiden 
whom  them  persecutest  become  the  happy  wife  of  a  brave 
man.  Undone,  sinking  ever  lower  and  lower,  thou  hast 
watched  me  rise  to  the  richest  and  most  powerful  of  my  nation. 
In  the  lowest  depth  of  thy  own  misery — and  this  has  been  the 
most  delicious  morsel  of  my  vengeance — thou  wast  forced  to 
see  me — me,  Phanes! — shedding  tears  that  could  not  be  kept 
back,  at  the  sight  of  thy  misery.  The  man  who  is  allowed  to 
draw  even  one  breath  of  life  after  beholding  his  enemy  so 
low,  I  hold  to  be  happy  as  the  gods  themselves.  I  have 
spoken." 

He  ceased,  and  pressed  his  hand  on  his  wound.  Cambyses 
gazed  at  him  in  astonishment,  stepped  forward,  and  was  just 
going  to  touch  his  girdle — an  action  which  \vould  have  been 
equivalent  to  the  signing  of  a  death-warrant* — when  his  eye 
caught  sight  of  the  chain  which  he  himself  had  hung  round 
the  Athenian's  neck  as  a  reward  for  the  clever  way  in  which 
he  had  proved  the  innocence  of  Nitetis.  The  sudden  recollec- 
tion of  the  woman  he  loved,  and  of  the  countless  services  ren- 

*The  same  sign  was  used  by  the  last  Darius  to  denote  that  his  able 
Greek  general,  Memnon,  who  had  offended  him  by  his  plainness  of 
speech,  was  doomed  to  death.  As  he  was  being. led  away,  Memnon 
exclaimed,  in  allusion  to  Alexander  who  was  then  fast  drawing  near: 
"Thy  remorse  will  soon  prove  my  worth;  my  avenger  is  not  far  off." 
Droysen,  "Alex.  d.  Grosse,"  p.  148.  "Diod.,"  vii.  30.  "Curtius,"  iii,  2. 


450  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

dered  him  by  Phanes,  calmed  his  wrath — his  hand  dropped. 
One  minute  the  severe  ruler  stood  gazing  lingeringly  at  his 
disobedient  friend;  the  next,  moved  by  a  sudden  impulse,  he 
raised  his  right  hand  again,  and  pointed  imperiously  to  the 
gate  leading  from  the  court. 

Phanes  bowed  in  silence,  kissed  the  king's  robe,  and 
descended  slowly  into  the  court.  Psamtik  watched  him,  quiv- 
ering with  excitement,  sprang  toward  the  veranda,  but  before 
his  lips  could  utter  the  curse  which  his  heart  had  prepared, 
he  sank  powerless  onto  the  ground. 

Cambyses  beckoned  to  his  followers  to  make  immediate 
preparations  for  a  lion-hunt  in  the  Libyan  mountains. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


The  waters  of  the  Nile  had  begun  to  rise  again.  Two  months 
had  passed  away  since  Phanes'  disappearance  and  much  had 
happened. 

The  very  day  on  which  he  left  Egypt  Sappho  had  given 
birth  to  a  girl,  and  had  so  far  regained  strength,  since  then 
under  care  of  her  grandmother,  as  to  be  able  to  join  in  an 
excursion  up  the  Nile  which  Croesus  had  suggested  should 
take  place  on  the  festival  of  the  goddess  Neith.  Since  the 
departure  of  Phanes,  Cambyses'  behavior  had  become  so  intol- 
erable, that  Bartja,  with  the  permission  of  his  brother,  had 
taken  Sappho  to  live  in  the  royal  palace  at  Memphis,  in  order 
to  escape  any  painful  collision.  Rhodopis,  at  whose  house 
Croesus  and  his  son,  Bartja,  Darius  and  Zopyrus  were  con- 
stant guests,  had  agreed  to  join  the  party. 

On  the  morning  of  the  festal  day  they  started  in  a  gorgeously 
decorated  boat,  from  a  point  between  thirty  and  forty  miles 
below  Memphis,  favored  by  a  good  north  wind  and  urged 
rapidly  forward  by  a  large  number  of  rowers. 

A  wooden  roof  or  canopy,  gilded  and  brightly  painted,  shel- 
tered them  from  the  sun.  Croesus  sat  by  Rhodopis.  Theo- 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  451 

pompus,  the  Milesian,  lay  at  her  feet.  Sappho  was  leaning 
against  Bartja.  Syloson,  the  brother  of  Polykrates,  had  made 
himself  a  comfortable  resting-place  next  to  Darius,  who  was 
looking  thoughtfully  into  the  water.  Gyges  and  Zopyrus  busied 
themselves  in  making  wreaths  for  the  women  from  the  flowers 
handed  them  by  an  Egyptian  slave. 

"It  seems  hardly  possible,"  said  Bartja,  "that  we  can  be 
rowing  against  the  stream.  The  boat  flies  like  a  swallow." 

"This  fresh  north  wind  brings  us  forward/'  answered  Theo- 
pompus.  "And  then  the  Egyptian  boatmen  understand  their 
work  splendidly." 

"And  row  all  the  better  just  because  we  are  sailing  against 
the  stream,"  added  Croesus.  "Resistance  always  brings  out 
a  man's  best  powers." 

"Yes,"  said  Rhodopis,  "sometimes  we  even  make  difficulties 
if  the  river  of  life  seems  too  smooth." 

"True,"  answered  Darius.  "A  noble  mind  can  never  swim 
with  the  stream.  In  quiet  inactivity  all  men  are  equal.  We 
must  be  seen  fighting,  to  be  rightly  estimated." 

"Such  noble-minded  champions  must  be  very  cautious, 
though,"  said  Rhodopis,  "lest  they  become  contentious  and 
quarrelsome.  Do  you  see  those  watermelons  lying  on  the 
black  soil  yonder,  like  golden  balls?  Not  one  would  have 
come  to  perfection  if  the  sower  had  been  too  lavish  with  his 
seed.  The  fruit  would  have  been  choked  by  too  luxuriant 
tendrils  and  leaves.  Man  is  born  to  struggle  and  to  work, 
but  in  this,  as  in  everything  else,  he  must  know  how  to  be 
moderate  if  his  efforts  are  to  succeed.  The  art  of  true  wisdom 
is  to  keep  within  limits." 

"Oh,  if  Cambyses  could  only  hear  you!"  exclaimed  Croesus. 
"Instead  of  being  contented  with  his  immense  conquests,  and 
now  thinking  for  the  welfare  of  his  subjects,  he  has  all  sorts 
of  distant  plans  in  his  head.  He  wishes  to  conquer  the  entire 
world,  and  yet,  since  Phanes  left,  scarcely  a  day  has  passed 
in  which  he  has  not  been  conquered  himself  by  the  div  of 
drunkenness." 

"Has  his  mother  no  influence  over  him?"  asked  Rhodopis. 
"She  is  a  noble  woman." 

"She  could  not  even  move  his  resolution  to  marry  Atossa, 
and  was  forced  to  be  present  at  the  marriage  feast." 

"Poor  Atossa!"  murmured  Sappho. 


452  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"She  does  not  pass  a  very  happy  life  as  queen  of  Persia," 
answered  Croesus  "and  her  own  naturally  impetuous  dispo- 
sition makes  it  all  the  more  difficult  for  her  to  live  contentedly 
with  this  husband  and  brother;  I  am  sorry  to  hear  it  said 
that  Cambyses  neglects  her  sadly  and  treats  her  like  a  child. 
But  the  marriage  does  not  seem  to  have  astonished  the  Egyp- 
tians, as  brothers  and  sisters  often  marry  here.* 

"In  Persia,  too,"  said  Darius,  putting  on  an  appearance  of 
the  most  perfect  composure,  "marriages  with  very  near  rela- 
tions are  thought  to  be  the  best."f 

"But  to  return  to  the  king,"  said  Croesus,  turning  the  con- 
versation for  Darius'  sake.  "I  can  assure  you,  Rhodopis,  that 
he  may  really  be  called  a  noble  man.  His  violent  and  hasty 
deeds  are  repented  of  almost  as  soon  as  committed,  and  the 
resolution  to  be  a  just  and  merciful  ruler  has  never  forsaken 
him.  At  supper,  for  instance,  lately,  before  his  mind  was 
clouded  by  the  influence  of  wine,  he  asked  us  what  the  Per- 
sians thought  of  him  in  comparison  with  his  father." 

"And  what  was  the  answer?"  said  Rhodopis. 

"Intaphernes  got  us  out  of  the  trap  cleverly  enough," 
answered  Zopyrus,  laughing.  "He  exclaimed:  'We  are  of 
opinion  that  you  deserve  the  preference,  inasmuch  as  you  have 
not  only  preserved  intact  the  inheritance  bequeathed  you  by 
Cyrus,  but  have  extended  his  dominion  beyond  the  seas  by 
your  conquest  of  Egypt.'  This  answer  did  not  seem  to  please 
the  king,  however,  and  poor  Intaphernes  was  not  a  little  hor- 
rified to  hear  him  strike  his  fist  on  the  table  and  cry:  'Flat- 
terer, miserable  flatterer!'  He  then  turned  to  Croesus  and 
asked  his  opinion.  Our  wise  friend  answered  at  once:  'My 
opinion  is  that  you  have  not  attained  to  the  greatness  of  your 
father;  for,'  added  he,  in  a  pacifying  tone,  'one  thing  is  want- 
ing to  you — a  son  such  as  Cyrus  bequeathed  us  in  yourself.'  "$ 

"First  rate,  first  rate,"  cried  Rhodopis,  clapping  her  hands 

*Marriages  with  a  sister  or  a  deceased  wife's  brother  were  not  un- 
common among  the  Egyptians.  This  is  confirmed  by  numerous  tes- 
timonies. "Diod.,"  i,  27.  "Cod.  Justin.,"  v.  "Tit.,"  v,  leg.  viii.  Also 
by  Greek  writers.  "Cor.  Net).,"  i,  5.  "Cim.,"  i.  The  history  of  the 
Ptolemies,  and  especially  of  Philadelphus,  is  full  of  examples  of  such 
marriages. 

tSee  note  p.  430. 

J"Herod.,"  iii,  34. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  45S 

and  laughing.  "An  answer  that  would  have  done  honor  to 
the  ready-witted  Odysseus  himself.  And  how  did  the  king 
take  your  honeyed  pill?" 

"He  was  very  much  pleased,  thanked  Croesus,  and  called 
him  his  friend."  . 

"And  I,"  said  Croesus,  taking  up  the  conversation,  "used 
the  favorable  opportunity  to  dissuade  him  from  the  campaigns 
he  has  been  planning  against  the  long-lived  Ethiopians,  the 
Ammonians  and  the  Carthaginians.  Of  the  first  of  these 
three  nations  we  know  scarcely  anything  but  through  fabulous 
tales;  by  attacking  them  we  should  lose  much  and  gain  little. 
The  oasis  of  Ammon  is  scarcely  accessible  to  a  large  army, 
on  account  of  the  desert  by  which  it  is  surrounded;  besides 
which,  it  seems  to  me  sacrilegious  to  make  war  upon  a  god 
in  the  hope  of  obtaining  possession  of  his  treasures,  whether 
we  be  his  worshipers  or  not.  As  to  the  Carthaginians,  facts 
have  already  justified  my  predictions.  Our  fleet  is  manned 
principally  by  Syrians  and  Phoenicians,  and  they  have,  as 
might  be  expected,  refused  to  go  to  war  against  their  brethren. 
Cambyses  laughed  at  my  reasons,  and  ended  by  swearing, 
when  he  was  already  somewhat  intoxicated,  that  he  could 
carry  out  difficult  undertakings  and  subdue  powerful  nations, 
even  without  the  help  of  Bartja  and  Phanes." 

"What  could  that  allusion  to  you  mean,  my  son?"  asked 
Rhodopis. 

"He  won  the  battle  of  Pelusium,"  cried  Zopyrus,  before  his 
friend  could  answer.  "He,  and  no  one  else!" 

"Yes,"  added  Croesus,  "and  you  might  have  been  more  pru- 
dent and  have  remembered  that  it  is  a  dangerous  thing  to 
excite  the  jealousy  of  a  man  like  Cambyses.  You  all  of  you 
forget  that  his  heart  is  sore,  and  that  the  slightest  vexation 
pains  him.  He  has  lost  the  woman  he  really  loved,  his  dearest 
friend  is  gone,  and  now  you  want  to  disparage  the  last  thing 
in  this  world  that  he  still  cares  for — his  military  glory." 

"Don't  blame  him,"  said  Bartja,  grasping  the  old  man's 
hand.  "My  brother  has  never  been  unjust,  and  is  far  from 
envying  me  what  I  must  call  my  good  fortune,  for  that  my 
attack  arrived  just  at  the  right  time  can  hardly  be  reckoned 
as  a  merit  on  my  part.  You  know  he  gave  me  this  splendid 
saber,  a  hundred  thoroughbred  horses  and  a  golden  hand-mill 
as  rewards  for  my  bravery." 


454  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

Croesus'  words  had  caused  Sappho  a  little  anxiety  at  first, 
but  this  vanished  on  hearing  her  husband  speak  so  confidently, 
and  by  the  time  Zopyrus  had  finished  his  wreath  and  placed 
it  on  Rhodopis'  head  all  her  fears  were  forgotten. 

Gyges  had  prepared  his  for  the  young  mother.  It  was  made 
of  snow-white  water  lilies,  and,  when  she  placed  it  among  her 
brown  curls,  she  looked  so  wonderfully  lovely  in  the  simple 
ornament  that  Bartja  could  not  help  kissing  her  on  the  fore- 
head, though  so  many  witnesses  were  present.  This  little 
episode  gave  a  merry  turn  to  the  conversation;  everyone  did 
his  best  to  enliven  the  others,  refreshments  of  all  kinds  were 
handed  round,  and  even  Darius  lost  his  gravity  for  a  time 
and  joined  in  the  jests  that  were  passing  among  his  friends. 

When  the  sun  had  set  the  slaves  placed  elegantly  carved 
chairs,  footstools  and  little  tables  on  the  open  part  of  the  deck. 
Our  cheerful  party  now  repaired  thither  and  beheld  a  sight 
so  marvelously  beautiful  as  to  be  quite  beyond  their  expec- 
tations. 

The  feast  of  Neith,  called  in  Egyptian  "the  lamp-burning," 
was  celebrated  by  a  universal  illumination,  which  began  at  the 
rising  of  the  moon.*  The  shores  of  the  Nile  looked  like  two 
long  lines  of  fire.  Every  temple,  house  and  hut  was  orna- 
mented with  lamps,  according  to  the  means  of  its  possessors. 
The  porches  of  the  country  houses  and  the  little  towers  on 
the  larger  buildings  were  all  lighted  up  by  brilliant  flames, 
burning  in  pans  of  pitch  and  sending  up  clouds  of  smoke,  in 
which  the  flags  and  pennons  waved  gently  backward  and 
forward.  The  palm  trees  and  sycamores  were  silvered  by 
the  moonlight  and  threw  strange  fantastic  reflections  onto  the 
red  waters  of  the  Nile — red  from  the  fiery  glow  of  the  houses 
on  their  shores.  But,  strong  and  glowing  as  was  the  light  of 
the  illumination,  its  rays  had  not  the  power  to  reach  the  middle 
of  the  giant  river  where  the  boat  was  making  its  course  and 
the  pleasure  party  felt  as  if  they  were  sailing  in  dark  night 
between  two  brilliant  days.  Now  and  then  a  brightly  lighted 


*Herodotus  (ii,  62),  speaks  of  this  "burning  of  lamps" 
in  honor  of  the  goddess  Neith  (Pallas  Athene).  In  Homer  Pallas 
Athene  appears  with  an  oil  lamp  in  her  hand.  "Odyss.,"  xix,  34. 
Strabo  (396)  speaks  of  an  eternal  lamp  which  was  kept  burning  in 
honor  of  Athene  Polias  in  her  ancient  temple  on  the  Acropolis. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  455 

boat  would  come  swiftly  across  the  river  and  seem  as  it  neared 
the  shore  to  be  cutting  its  way  through  a  glowing  stream  of 
molten  iron. 

Lotus  blossoms,  white  as  snow,  lay  on  the  surface  of  the 
river,  rising  and  falling  with  the  waves  and  looking  like  eyes 
in  the  water.  Not  a  sound  could  be  heard  from  either  shore. 
The  echoes  were  carried  away  by  the  north  wind  and  the 
measured  stroke  of  the  oars  and  the  monotonous  song  of 
the  rowers  were  the  only  sounds  that  broke  the  stillness  of 
this  strange  night — a  night  robbed  of  its  darkness. 

For  a  long  time  the  friends  gazed  without  speaking  at  the 
wonderful  sight  which  seemed  to  glide  past  them.  Zopyrus 
was  the  first  to  break  the  silence  by  saying,  as  he  drew  a  long 
breath:  "I  really  envy  you,  Bartja.  If  things  were  as  they 
should  be  everyone  of  us  would  have  his  dearest  wife  at  his 
side  on  such  a  night  as  this.'' 

"And  who  forbid  you  to  bring  one  of  your  wives?"  answered 
the  happy  husband. 

"The  other  five,"  said  the  youth,  with  a  sigh.  "If  I  had 
allowed  Oroetes'  little  daughter,  Parysatis,  my  youngest  favor- 
ite, to  come  out  alone  with  me  to-night  this  wonderful  sight 
would  have  been  my  last;  to-morrow  there  would  have  been 
one  pair  of  eyes  less  in  the  world." 

Bartja  took  Sappho's  hand  and  held  it  fast,  saying:  "I  fancy 
one  wife  will  content  me  as  long  as  I  live." 

The  young  mother  pressed  his  hand  warmly  again,  and  said, 
turning  to  Zopyrus  N  "I  don't  quite  trust  you,  my  friend.  It 
seems  to  me  that  it  is  not  the  anger  of  your  wives  you  fear 
so  much  as  the  commission  of  an  offense  against  the  customs 
of  your  country.  I  have  been  told  that  my  poor  Bartja  gets 
terribly  scolded  in  the  women's  apartments  for  not  setting 
eunuchs  to  watch  over  me  and  for  letting  me  share  his  pleas- 
ures." 

"He  does  spoil  you  terribly,"  answered  Zopyrus,  "and  our 
wives  are  beginning  to  quote  him  as  an  example  of  kindness 
and  indulgence  when  we  try  to  hold  the  reins  a  little  tight. 
Indeed,  there  will  soon  be  a  regular  women's  mutiny  at  the 
king's  gate,  and  the  Achaemenidae  who  escaped  the  swords 
and  arrows  of  the  Egyptians  will  fall  victims  to  sharp  tongues 
and  floods  of  salt  tears." 

"Oh.  you  most  impolite  Persian!"  said  Syloson,  laughing. 


4C6  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"\\~e  must  make  you  more  respectful  to 'these  images  of 
Aphrodite.'' 

"You  Greeks!  that's  a  good  idea,"  answered  the  youth.  "By 
Mithras,  our  wives  are  quite  as  well  off  as  yours.  It's  only 
the  Egyptian  women  that  are  so  wonderfully  free." 

"Yes,  you  are  quite  right,"  said  Rhodopis.  "The  inhabitants 
of  this  strange  land  have  for  thousands  of  years  granted  our 
weaker  sex  the  same  rights  that  they  demand  for  themselves. 
Indeed,  in  many  respects  they  have  given  us  the  preference. 
For  instance,  by  the  Egyptian  law  it  is  the  daughters,  not  the 
sons,  who  are  commanded  to  foster  and  provide  ior  their  aged 
parents,  showing  how  well  the  fathers  of  this  now  humbled 
people  understood  woman's  nature,  and  how  rightly  they 
acknowledged  that  she  far  surpasses  man  in  thoughtful  solici- 
tude and  self-forgetful  love.  Do  not  laugh  at  these  worshipers 
of  animals.  I  confess  that  I  cannot  understand  them,  but  I 
feel  true  admiration  for  the  people  in  the  teaching  of  whose 
priests  even  Pythagoras,  that  great  master  in  the  art  of  knowl- 
edge, assured  me  lies  a  wisdom  as  mighty  as  the  pyramids." 

"And  your  great  master  was  right,"  exclaimed  Darius.  "You 
know  that  I  obtained  Neithotep's  freedom,  and,  for  some 
weeks  past,  have  seen  him  and  Onuphis  very  constantly; 
indeed,  they  have  been  teaching  me.  And,  oh,  how  much  I 
have  learned  already  from  those  two  old  men,  of  which  I  had 
no  idea  before!  How  much  that  is  sad  I  can  forget  when  I 
am  listening  to  them!  They  are  acquainted  with  the  entire 
history  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  They  know  the  name  of 
every  king,  and  the  circumstances  of  every  important  event 
that  has  occurred  during  the  last  four  thousand  years,  the 
courses  of  the  stars,  the  works  of  their  own  artists  and  sayings 
of  their  sages  during  the  same  immense  period  of  time.  All  this 
knowledge  is  recorded  in  huge  books,  which  have  been  pre- 
served in  a  palace  at  Thebes,*  called  the  "place  of  healing  for 
the  soul."  Their  laws  are  a  fountain  of  pure  wisdom,  and^  a 
comprehensive  intellect  has  been  shown  in  the  adaptation  of 
all  their  state  institutions  to  the  needs  of  the  country.  I  wish 
we  could  boast  of  the  same  regularity  and  order  at  home.  The 
idea  that  lies  at  the  root  of  all  their  knowledge  is  the  use  of 
numbers,  the  only  means  by  which  it  is  possible  to  calculate  the 

*See  note  pp.  347-348. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  45? 

course  of  the  stars,  to  ascertain  and  determine  the  limits  of  all 
that  exists,  and,  by  the  application  of  which  in  the  shortening 
and  lengthening  of  the  strings  of  musical  instruments,  tones 
can  be  regulated.*  Numbers  are  the  only  certain  things;  they 
can  neither  be  controlled  nor  perverted.  Every  nation  has  its 
own  ideas  of  right  and  wrong;  every  law  can  be  rendered 
invalid  by  circumstances;  but  the  results  obtained  from  num- 
bers can  never  be  overthrown.  Who  can  dispute,  for  instance, 
that  twice  two  make  four?  Numbers  determine  the  contents 
of  every  existing  thing;  whatever  is,  is  equal  to  its  contents; 
numbers,  therefore,  are  the  true  being,  the  essence  of  all  that  is." 

"In  the  name  of  Mithras,  Darius,  do  leave  off  talking  in  that 
style,  unless  you  want  to  turn  my  brain,"  interrupted  Zopy- 
rus.  "Why,  to  hear  you,  one  would  fancy  you'd  been  spending 
your  life  among  these  old  Egyptian  speculators  and  had  never 
had  a  sword  in  your  hand.  What  on  earth  have  we  to  do  with 
numbers?" 

"More  than  you  fancy,"  answered  Rhodopis.  "This  theory  of 
numbers  belongs  to  the  mysteries  of  the  Egyptian  priests,  and 
Pythagoras  learned  it  from  the  very  Onuphis  who  is  now  teach- 
ing you,  Darius.  If  you  will  come  to  see  me  sOon  I  will  show 
you  how  wonderfully  that  great  Samian  brought  the  laws  of 
numbers  and  of  the  harmonies  into  agreement.f  But,  look, 
there  are  the  pyramids !" 

The  whole  party  rose  at  these  words  and  stood  speechless, 
gazing  at  the  grand  sight  which  opened  before  them. 

The  pyramids  lay  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Nile,  in  the  silver 
moonshine,  massive  and  awful,  as  if  bruising  the  earth  beneath 
them  with  their  weight;  the  giant  graves  of  mighty  rulers. 
They  seemed  examples  of  man's  creative  power  and  at  the  same 
time  warnings  of  the  vanity  and  mutability  of  earthly  greatness. 
For  where  was  Chufu  now — the  king  who  had  cemented  that 
mountain  of  stone  with  the  sweat  of  his  subjects?  Where  was 
the  long-lived  Chafra  who  had  despised  the  gods,  and,  defiant 
in  the  consciousness  of  his  own  strength,  was  said  to  have 
closed  the  gates  of  the  temples  in  order  to  make  himself  and  his 
name  immortal  by  building  a  tomb  of  superhuman  dimen- 

*Zeller,  "Geschichte  d.  Philosophic  der  Griechen,"  i,  p.  292.  We 
•  Wee  with  Jamblichus  in  supposing  that  these  Pythagorean  views 
were  derived  from  the  Egyptian  mysteries, 

tArjstotle,  "Met.,"  1,  5, 


458  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

sions?*  Their  empty  sarcophagi  are,  perhaps,  tokens  that  the 
judges  of  the  dead  found  them  unworthy  of  rest  in  the  grave, 
unworthy  of  the  resurrection,  whereas,  the  builder  of  the  third 
and  most  beautiful  pyramid,  Menkera,  who  contented  himself 
with  a  smaller  monument,  and  re-opened  the  gates  of  the  tem- 
ples, was  allowed  to  rest  in  peace  in  his  coffin  of  blue  basalt.f 

There  they  lay  in  the  quiet  night,  those  mighty  pyramids, 
shone  6n  by  the  bright  stars,  guarded  by  the  watchman  of  the 
desert — the  gigantic  sphinx — and  overlooking  the  barren  rocks 
of  the  Libyan  stony  mountains.  At  their  feet  in  beautifully  or- 
namented tombs,  slept  the  mummies  of  their  faithful  subjects, 
and  opposite  the  monument  of  the  pious  Menkera  stood  a  tem- 
ple where  prayers  were  said  by  the  priests  for  the  souls  of  the 
many  dead  buried  in  the  great  Memphian  city  of  the  dead.  In 
the  west,  where  the  sun  went  down  behind  the  Libyan  moun- 
tains— where  the  fruitful  land  ended  and  the  desert  began — there 
the  people  of  Memphis  had  buried  their  dead ;  and  as  our  gay 
party-  looked  toward  the  west  they  felt  awed  into  a  solemn  si- 
lence. 

But  their  boat  sped  on  before  the  north  wind ;  they  left  the 
city  of  the  dead  behind  them  and  passed  the  enormous  dikesj 
built  to  protect  the  city  of  Menes  from  the  violence  of  the  floods ; 
the  city  of  the  Pharaohs  came  in  sight,  dazzlingly  bright  with  the 

"Herodotus  repeats,  in  good  faith,  that  the  builders  of  the  great 
pyramids  were  despisers  of  the  gods.  The  tombs  of  their  faithful 
subjects  at  the  foot  of  these  huge  structures  prove,  however  (esp.e- 
cially  in  E.  de  Rouge's  "Recherches  sur  les  Monuments  qu'on  Pent 
Attribuer  aux  vi,  Premieres  Dynasties,"  etc.),  that  they  owe  their  bad 
repute  to  the  hatred  of  the  people,  who  could  not  forget  the  era  of 
their  hardest  bondage,  and  branded  the  memories  of  their  oppressors 
whenever  an  opportunity  could  be  found.  We  might  use  the  word 
"tradition"  instead  of  "the  people,"  for  this  it  is  which  puts  the 
feeling  and  tone  of  mind  of  the  multitude  into  the  form  of  history. 

tBunsen,  "Aegyptens  Stelle  in  der  Weltgeschichte,"  ii,  169,  and 
following,  pi.  xvii,  and  in  Vyse,  "Pyramids  of  Ghizeh,"  ii.  Unfor- 
tunately the  sarcophagus  went  down  on  the  coast  of  Spain  in  the 
ship  which  was  conveying  it  to  Europe.  The  Arabian  geographer, 
Ibrisi,  states  that  shortly  before  the  date  at  which  he  was  then  writ- 
ing (1240)  the  pyramid  had  been  opened,  and  that  a  mummy  had  been 
found  in  the  sarcophagus  with  a  gold  plate  by  its  side  covered  with 
unknown  characters.  Birch's  translation  of  the  inscription  restored 
by  Lepsius  is  probably  the  first.  It  is  given  in  Vyse's  "Pyramids," 
ii,  p.  94. 

$See  note  p.  83. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  459 

myriads  of  flames  which  had  been  kindled  in  honor  of  the  god- 
dess Neith,  and  when  at  last  the  gigantic  temple  of  Ptah*  ap- 
peared, the  most  ancient  building  of  the  most  ancient  land,  the 
spell  broke,  their  tongues  were  loosed,  and  they  burst  out 
into  loud  exclamations  of  delight. 

It  was  illuminated  by  thousands  of  lamps;  a  hundred  fires 
burned  on  its  pylons,  its  battlemented  walls  and  roofs.  Burning 
torches  flared  between  the  rows  of  sphinxes  which  connected  the 
various  gates  with  the  main  building,  and  the  now  empty  house 
of  the  god  Apisf  was  so  surrounded  by  colored  fires  that  it 
gleamed  like  a  white  limestone  rock  in  a  tropical  sunset.  Pen- 
nons, flags  and  garlands  waved  above  the  brilliant  picture; 
music  and  loud  songs  could  be  heard  from  below. 

"Glorious,"  cried  Rhodopis,  in  enthusiasm,  "glorious!    Look 
how  the  painted  walls  and  columns  gleam  in  the  light,  and  what 


*See  note  p.  30. 

fMore  has  been  said  on  the  characteristic  marks  of  the  sacred  bull, 
Apis,  further  on  in  the  text,  and  on  the  festival  held  at  his  discovery. 
Great  lamentation  was  made  at  his  death  and  he  was  buried  with 
incredible  pomp.  In  the  reign  of  Ptolemy  Lagi;  the  Apis  having  died 
of  old  age,  his  keeper  not  only  expended  on  his  funeral  all  the  ready 
money  then  in  store,  but  borrowed  fifty  silver  talents  from  the  king 
for  the  same  purpose  (six  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty  pounds 
sterling).  Some  of  the  priests  who  presided  over  the  Apis  temple 
are  said  to  have  expended  one  hundred  talents  (twenty-two  thousand 
five  hundred  pounds  sterling)  on  the  animal's  burial.  "Diod.,"  i,  84. 
T-he  Egyptians  ascribed  the  gift  of  prophecy  to  Apis  ("Plin.,"  viii, 
71),  and  seem  to  have  considered  him  as  symbolizing  a  period  of 
twenty-five  years.  This  supposition  has  been  confirmed  by  the  re- 
sults of  Mariette's  excavations  in  the  Serapeum  and  in  the  Apis 
tombs,  and  by  the  deciphering  of  inscriptions  on  the  so-called  Apis 
stelae.  Mariette  found  a  stone  statue  of  the  bull  covered  with  beau- 
tiful inscriptions  and  a  number  of  colossal  Apis  sarcophagi.  The 
statue  was  sent  to  Paris.  A.  Mariette,  "Le  Serapeum  de  Memphis." 
The  dates  on  these  Apis  stelae  are  of  the  greatest  importance  for  the 
chronology  of  later  Egyptian  history,  especially  that  of  the  twenty- 
sixth  dynasty,  which  can  be  accurately  determined  by  their  means. 
We  recommend  as  interesting  Mariette's  "La  Mere  d'Apis."  He  was 
said  by  many  of  the  ancient  writers  to  have  been  generated  by  a 
moonbeam  and  dedicated  to  the  moon  as  the  Mnevis  bull  of  Heliopolis 
to  the  sun.  "Pomp.  Mela.,"  i,  9,  7.  We  cannot  here  discuss  the 
place  he  held  in  the  Egyptian  religion.  Much  on  this  subject  is  to 
be  found  in  Reinisch,  "Die  Aegyptischen  Denkmaler  in  Miramar," 
p.  178. 


460  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

marvelous  figures  the  shadows  of  the  obelisks  and  sphinxes, 
throw  on  the  smooth  yellow  pavement!" 

"And  how  mysterious  the  sacred  grove  looks  yonder!"  added 
Croesus.  "I  never  saw  anything  so  wonderful  before." 

"I  have  seen  something  more  wonderful  still,"  said  Darius. 
"You  will  hardly  believe  me  when  I  tell  you  that  I  have  wit- 
nessed a  celebration  of  the  mysteries  of  Neith." 

"Tell  us  what  you  saw — tell  us!"  was  the  universal  outcry. 

"At  first  Neithotep  refused  me  admission,  but  when  I  prom- 
ised to  remain  hidden,  and  besides  to  obtain  the  freedom  of  his 
child,  he  led  me  up  to  his  observatory,  from  which  there  is  a 
very  extensive  view,  and  told  me  that  I  should  see  a  representa- 
tion of  the  fates  of  Osiris  and  his  wife  Isis.* 

"He  had  scarcely  left  when  the  sacred  grove  became  so 
brightly  illuminated  by  colored  lights  that  I  was  able  to  see  into 
its  innermost  depths. 

"A  lake,f  smooth  as  glass,  lay  before  me,  surrounded  by  beau- 
tiful trees  and  flower-beds.  Golden  boats  were  sailing  on  this 
lake  and  in  them  sat  lovely  boys  and  girls  dressed  in  snow-white 
garments  and  singing  sweet  songs  as  they  passed  over  the  water. 
There  were  no  rowers  to  direct  these  boats,  and  yet  they  moved 
over  the  ripples  of  the  lake  in  a  graceful  order,  as  if  guided  by 
some  magic,  unseen  hand.  A  large  ship  sailed  in  the  midst  of 
this  little  fleet  Its  deck  glittered  with  precious  stones.  It 
seemed  to  be  steered  by  one  beautiful  boy  only,  and,  strange 
to  say,  the  rudder  he  guided  consisted  of  one  white  lotus-flower, 
the  delicate  leaves  of  which  seemed  scarcely  to  touch  the  water. 
A  very  lovely  woman,  dressed  like  a  queen,  lay  on  silken  cush- 
ions in  the  middle  of  the  vessel;  by  her  side  sat  a  man  of  larger 
stature  than  that  of  ordinary  mortals.  He  wore  a  crown  of  ivy 
on  his  flowing  curls,  a  panther-skin  hung  over  his  shoulders  and 
he  held  a  crooked  staff  in  the  right  hand.  In  the  back  part  of 
the  ship  was  a  roof  made  of  ivy,  lotus-blossoms  and  roses;  be- 

*These  performances  in  the  sacred  grove  of  Neith  seemed  to  have 
belonged  to  the  external  apparatus  of  the  mysteries.  The  stage  on 
which  they  took  place  was  the  lake  of  Sa-el-Hagar.  It  exists  to  this 
day  and  Herodotus  (ii,  170)  implies  that  near  it  was  a  tomb  of  Osiris. 
He  says  (171):  "These  plays  represented  the  fates  of  the  above-men- 
tioned and  were  called  mysteries,"  See  note  p.  461, 

tSee  note  p.  188. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  461 

neath  it  stood  a  milk-white  cow*  with  golden  horns  covered 
with  a  cloth  of  purple.  The  man  was  Osiris,  the  woman  Isis,  the 
boy  at  the  helm  her  son  Horus,  and  the  cow  was  the  animal 
sacred  to  the  immortal  Isis.  The  little  boats  all  skimmed  over 
the  water,  singing  glad  songs  of  joy  as  they  passed  by  the  ship, 
and  receiving  in  return  showers  of  flowers  and  fruits,  thrown 
down  upon  the  lovely  singers  by  the  god  and  goddess  within. 
Suddenly  I  heard  the  roll  of  thunder.  It  came  crashing  on 
louder  and  louder,  and  in  the  midst  of  this  awful  sound  a  man  in 
the  skin  of  a  wild  boar,  with  hideous  features  and  bristling  red 
hair,  came  out  of  the  gloomiest  part  of  the  sacred  grove  plunged 
into  the  lake,  followed  by  seventy  creatures  like  himself,  and 
swam  up  to  the  ship  of  Osiris. f 

"The  little  boats  fled  with  the  swiftness  of  the  wind,  and  the 
trembling  boy  helmsman  dropped  his  lotus-blossom. 

"The  dreadful  monster  then  rushed  on  Osiris,  and  with  the 
help  of  his  comrades,  killed  him,  threw  the  body  into  a  coffin 
and  the  coffin  into  the  lake,:j:  the  waters  of  which  seemed  to 
carry  it  away  as  if  by  magic.  Isis  meanwhile  had  escaped  to 
land  in  one  of  the  small  boats,  and  was  now  running  hither 
and  thither  on  the  shores  of  the  lake,  with  streaming  hair, 
lamenting  her  dead  husband  and  followed  by  the  virgins  who 
had  escaped  with  her.  Their  songs  and  dances  while  seeking 
the  body  of  Osiris  were  strangely  plaintive  and  touching,  and  the 
girls  accompanied  the  dances  by  waving  black  Byssus  scarfs  in 
woifderfully  graceful  curves.  Neither  were  the  youths  idle; 
they  busied  themselves  in  making  a  costly  coffin  for  the  van- 
ished corpse  of  the  god,  accompanying  their  work  with  dances 
and  the  sound  of  castanets.  When  this  was  finished  they  joined 
the  maidens  in  the  train  of  the  lamenting  Isis  and  wandered 
on  the  shore  with  them  singing  and  searching. 

*The  ivy  was  the  plant  of  Osiris,  the  cow  the  animal  sacred  to  Isis. 
"Diod.,"  i,  17.  Plut,  "Isis  and  Osiris,"  37.  "Herod.,"  ii,  41.  Isis  is 
almost  always  represented  with  the  head  of  a  cow,  and  is  again  and 
again  called  "che"  (the  cow).  There  must  certainly  be  a  connection 
between  this  word  and  the  name  lo. 

tWe  have  taken  our  description  of  this  spectacle  entirely  from  the 
Osiris  myth  as  we  find  it  in  Plutarch,  "Isis  and  Osiris,"  13-19.  "Diod.," 
i,  22,  and  a  thousand  times  repeated  on  the  monuments.  Horns  is 
called  "the  revenger  of  his  father,"  etc. 

JHere  we  have  departed  in  some  measure  from  Plutarch's  version, 
in  which  Typhon  artfully  induces  Osiris  to  lie  down  in  the  coffin. 


462  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

"Suddenly  a  low  song  rose  from  some  invisible  lips.  It 
swelled  louder  and  louder  and  announced  that  the  body  of  the 
god  had  been  transported  by  the  currents  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean to  Gebal*  in  distant  Phoenicia.  This  singing  voice 
thrilled  to  my  very  heart;  Neithotep's  son,  who  was  my  com- 
panion, called  it  'the  wind  of  rumor.' 

"When  Isis  heard  the  glad  news,  she  threw  off  her  mourning 
garments  and  sang  a  song  of  triumphant  rejoicing,  accompanied 
by  the  voices  of  her  beautiful  followers.  Rumor  had  not  lied ; 
the  goddess  really  found  the  sarcophagus  and  the  dead  body 
of  her  husband  on  the  northern  shore  of  the  lake.f  They 
brought  both  to  land  with  dances;  Isis  threw  herself  on  the 
beloved  corpse,  called  on  the  name  Osiris  and  covered  the 
mummy  with  kisses,  while  the  youths  wove  a  wonderful  tomb 
of  lotus-flowers  and  ivy. 

"When  the  coffin  had  been  laid  under  this  beautiful  vault 
Isis  left  the  sad  place  of  mourning  and  went  to  look  for  her 
son.  She  found  him  at  the  east  end  of  the  lake,  where  for  a 
long  time  I  had  seen  a  beautiful  youth  practicing  arms  with  a 
number  of  companions. 

*Better  known  by  its  Greek  name  of  Byblos. 

tit  is  natural  that  Isis  should  find  the  body  of  her  husband  in  the 
north.  The  connection  between  Phoenicia  and  Egypt  in  this  myth, 
as  it  has  been  handed  down  to  us  by  Plutarch,  is  very  remarkable. 
We  consider  the  explanation  of  the  close  affinity  between  the  Isis 
and  Osiris  and  the  Adonis  myths  to  lie  in  the  fact  that  Egyptians%nd 
Phoenicians  lived  together  on  the  shores  of  the  Delta,  where  the 
latter  had  planted  their  colonies.  Plutarch's  story  of  the  finding  of 
Osiris'  dead  body  is  very  charming.  "Isis  and  Osiris,"  ed.  Parth,  15. 
The  coffin  had  been  .overgrown  and  inclosed  by  an  erica,  which  sup- 
ported the  roof  of  the  king  of  Byblus.  This  was  wafted  to  Isis'  ears 
by  a  marvelous  breath  of  rumor  (Trveifian  fiat/wviu  <^M?/f).  She 
went  to  Byblus  and  seated  herself  by  a  spring,  weeping  and  in  poor 
raiment.  She  spoke  with  no  one  save  with  the  maidens  of  the  queen, 
whose  hair  she  braided  and  breathed  in  to  them  a  wonderful  perfume, 
which  she  alone  possessed.  When  the  queen  saw  her  maidens  she 
felt  a  desire  toward  this  marvelous  stranger,  whose  hair  and  skin 
breathed  ambrosial  odors,  and  sent  for  her.  Isis  soon  became  her 

friend  and  was  appointed  nurse  to  the  queen's  little  child 

Isis  nourished  it  by  putting  her  finger  into  its  mouth  instead  of  the 
breast.  .  .  .  She  herself  took  the  form  of  a  swallow  and  flew  round 
the  supporting  pillar,  uttering  plaintive  cries.  .  .  .  Finally  she 
reveals  herself  as  the  goddess  and  asks  for  the  pillar,  draws  it  lightly 
away  from  under  the  roof,  peels  the  erica  covering  from  the  coffin  ot 
Osiris  and  anoints  him  with  bitter  tears. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  463 

''While  she  was  rejoicing  over  her  newly  found  child,  a  fresh 
peal  of  tl"  under  told  that  Typhon  had  returned.  This  time  the 
monster  rushed  upon  the  beautiful  flowering  grave,  tore  the 
body  out  of  its  coffin,  hewed  it  into  fourteen  pieces*  and 
strewed  them  over  the  shores  of  the  lake. 

"When  Isis  came  back  to  the  grave  she  found  nothing  but 
faded  flowers  and  an  empty  coffin;  but  at  fourteen  different 
places  on  the  shore  fourteen  beautiful  colored  flames  were  burn- 
ing. She  and  her  virgins  ran  to  these  flames,  while  Horus 
led  the  youths  to  battle  against  Typhon  on  the  opposite  shore. 

"My  eyes  and  ears  hardly  sufficed  for  all  I  had  to  see  and 
hear.  On  the  one  shore  a  fearful  and  interesting  struggle,  peals 
of  thunder  and  the  braying  of  trumpets;  on  the  other  the  sweet 
voices  of  the  women,  singing  the  most  captivating  songs  to 
the  most  enchanting  dances,  for  Isis  had  found  a  part  of  her 
husband's  body  at  every  fire  and  was  rejoicing. 

"That  was  something  for  you,  Zopyrus!  I  know  of  no 
words  to  describe  the  grace  of  those  girls'  movements,  or  how 
beautiful  it  was  to  see  them  first  mingling  in  intricate  confusion, 
then  suddenly  standing  in  faultless,  unbroken  lines,  falling 
again  into  the  same  lovely  tumult  and  passing  once  more  into 
order,  and  all  this  with  the  greatest  swiftness.  Bright  rays  of 
light  flashed  from  their  whirling  ranks  all  the  time,  for  each 
dancer  had  a  mirrorf  fastened  between  her  shoulders  which 
flashed  while  she  was  in  motion  and  reflected  the  scene  when 
she  was  still. 

"Just  as  Isis  had  found  the  last  limb  but  one$  of  the  murdered 
Osiris,  loud  songs  of  triumph  and  the  flourish  of  trumpets  re- 
sounded from  the  opposite  shore. 

"Horus  had  conquered  Typhon,  and  was  forcing  his  way 

*In  twenty-six  pieces,  according  to  Diodorus  (i,  21),  which  Typhon 
distributes  among  the  same  number  of  his  companions.  Plut.  ("Is. 
and  Os.,"  18),  agrees  with  the  monuments  in  stating  the  number  as 
fourteen.  These  are  separately  specified  on  the  latter. 

tDupuis,  "Originie  des  Cultes."  This  mirror-dance  is  most  charm- 
ingly described  by  Th.  Moore  in  his  "Epicurean."  Nothing  deter- 
minate can  be  said  about  it. 

flsis  sought  the  last  limb  m  vain.  Typhon  (Set)  had  thrown  it  into 
the  Nile.  The  goddess  made  an  artificial  limb,  and  from  thence  arose 
a  worship  which  seems  to  us  to  have  been  imported  into  Egypt  from 
Phoenicia.  "Diod.,"  i,  22.  Plutarch,  "Isis  and  Osiris,"  18. 


464  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

into  the  nether  regions  to  free  his  father.  The  gate  to  this 
lower  world  opened  on  the  west  side  of  the  lake  and  was  guard- 
ed by  a  fierce  female  hippopotamus.* 

"And  now  a  lovely  music  of  flutes  and  harps  came  nearer 
and  nearer,  heavenly  perfumes  rose  into  the  air,  a  rosy  light 
spread  over  the  sacred  grove,  growing  brighter  every  minute, 
and  Osiris  came  up  from  the  lower  world,  led  by  his  victorious 
son.  Isis  hastened  to  embrace  her  risen  and  delivered  hus- 
band, gave  the  beautiful  Horus  his  lotus-flower  again  instead 
of  the  sword,  and  scattered  fruits  and  flowers  over  the  earth, 
while  Osiris  seated  himself  under  a  canopy  wreathed  writh  ivy, 
and  received  the  homage  of  all  the  spirits  of  the  earth  and  of 
the  amenti."f 

Darius  was  silent.     Rhodopis  began: 

"We  thank  you  for  your  charming  account;  but  this  strange 
spectacle  must  have  a  higher  meaning,  and  we  should  thank 
you  doubly  if  you  would  explain  that  to  us." 

"Your  idea  is  quite  right,"  answered  Darius,  "but  what  I 
know  I  dare  not  tell.  I  was  obliged  to  promise  Neithotep  with 
an  oath  not  to  tell  tales  out  of  school."! 

"Shall  I  tell  you,"  asked  Rhodopis,  "what  conclusions  va- 
rious hints  from  Pythagoras  and  Onuphis  have  led  me  to  draw, 
as  to  the  meaning  of  this  drama?  Isis  seems  to  me  to  represent 
the  bountiful  earth;  Osiris,  humidity  or  the  Nile,  which  makes 
the  earth  fruitful;  Horus,  the  young  spring;  Typhon,  the 
scorching  drought.  The  bounteous  earth,  robbed  of  her  pro- 
ductive power,  seeks  this  beloved  husband  with  lamentations  in 
the  cooler  regions  of  the  north,  where  the  Nile  discharges  his 

*Lepsius  considers  the  animal  that  kept  guard  over  the  lower  world, 
and  was  generally  represented  sitting  in  front  of  Osiris,  to  have  been 
a  female  hippopotamus.  Sometimes,  however,  it  is  represented  as  a 
female  dog,  and  generally  of  a  mongrel  form  bearing  some  resem- 
blance to  a  hippopotamus.  Whatever  it  be,  Cerberus  certainly  owes 
his  origin  to  this  "voracious  beast  of  the  Amenthes." 

tThe  lower  world,  in  Egyptian  "amenti,"  properly  speaking,  the 
west  or  kingdom  of  death,  to  which  the  soul  returns  at  the  death  of 
the  body,  as  the  sun  at  his  setting.  In  a  hieroglyphic  inscription  of 
the  time  of  the  Ptolemies  the  amenti  is  cfalled  hades. 

JHerodotus,  in  speaking  of  the  Osiris  of  the  mysteries,  says  (ii,  170): 
"This  sanctuary  is  holy  to  him  whose  name  I  hold  it  sin  to  mention 
here,"  and  (171):  "Though  I  know  much  about  the  mysteries,  I  am 
silent  in  deep  reverence." 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  465 

waters.  At  last  Horus,  the  young  springing  power  of  nature, 
is  grown  up  and  conquers  Typhon,  or  tiie  scorching  drought. 
Osiris,  as  is  the  case  with  the  fruitful  principle  of  nature,  was  only 
apparently  dead,  rises  from  the  nether  regions  and  once  more 
rules  the  blessed  valley  of  the  Nile,  in  concert  with  his  wife,  the 
bounteous  earth." 

"And  as  the  murdered  god  behaved  properly  in  the  lower 
regions,"  said  Zopyrus,  laughing,  "he  is  allowed,  at  the  end  of 
this  odd  story,  to  receive  homage  from  the  inhabitants  of 
Hamestegan,  Duzakh  and  Gorothman,*  or  whatever  they  call 
these  abodes  for  the  Egyptian  spirit-host." 

"They  are  called  amenti,"  said  Darius,  falling  into  his  friend's 
merry  mood;  "but  you  must  know  that  the  history  of  this  di- 
vine pair  represents  not  only  the  life  of  nature,  but  also  that  of 
the  human  soul,  which,  like  the  murdered  Osiris,  lives  an  eter- 
nal life,  even  when  the  body  is  dead." 

'Thank  you,"  said  the  other;  "I'll  try  to  remember  that  if  I. 
should  chance  to  die  in  Egypt.  But,  really,  cost  what  it  may, 
I  must  see  this  wonderful  sight  soon." 

"Just  my  own  wish,"  said  Rhodopis.     "Age  is  inquisitive." 

"You  will  never  be  old,"  interrupted  Darius.  "Your  con- 
versation and  your  features  have  remained  alike  beautiful,  and 
your  mind  is  as  clear  and  bright  as  your  eyes." 

"Forgive  me  for  interrupting  you,"  said  Rhodopis,  as  if,she 
had  not  heard  his  flattering  words,  "but  the  word  'eyes'  reminds 
me  of  the  oculist  Nebenchari,  and  my  memory  fails  me 
so  often  that  I  must  ask  you  what  has  become  of  him  before  I 
forget.  I  hear  nothing  now  of  this  skillful  operator  to  whom 
the  noble  Kassandane  owes  her  sight." 

"He  is  much  to  be  pitied,"  replied  Darius.  "Even  before  we 
reached  Pelusium  he  had  begun  to  avoid  society  and  scorned 
even  to  speak  with  his  countryman  Onuphis.  His  gaunt  old 
servant  was  the  only  being  allowed  to  wait  on  or  be  with  him. 
But  after  the  battle  his  whole  behavior  changed.  He  went  to 

*Hamestegan — the  abode  of  those  whose  good  and  bad  deeds  were 
equal;  duzakh — hell;  gorothman — the  paradise  of  the  Persians.  Spie- 
gel, "Avesta,"  i,  p.  23.  "Ulmai  Islam."  Vullers,  "Fragments."  The 
"contemplation  from  the  seven  heavens"  seems  to  have  belonged  to 
a  later  period.  ("The  Ardai-Viraf  Nameh,"  etc.  Translated  from 
the  Persian  by  J.  A.  Pope.)  Spiegel,  "Avesta  Farg.,"  xix,  note  to 
sec.  121. 


466  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

the  king  with  a  radiant  countenance  and  asked  permission  to 
accompany  him  to  Sais  and  to  choose  two  citizens  of  that  town 
to  be  his  slaves.  Cambyses  thought  he  could  not  refuse  any- 
thing to  the  man  who  had  been  such  a  benefactor  to  his  mother 
and  granted  him  full  power  to  do  what  he  wished.  On  arriv- 
ing at  Amasis'  capital  he  went  at  once  to  the  temple  of  Neith, 
and  caused  the  high-priest  (who  had,  moreover,  placed  himself 
at  the  head  of  the  citizens  hostile  to  Persia)  to  be  arrested  and 
with  him  a  certain  oculist  named  Petammon.  He  then  in- 
formed them  that 'as  punishment  for  the  burning  of  certain 
papers  they  would  be  condemned  to  serve  a  Persian  to  whom 
he  should  sell  them  for  ttie  term  of  their  natural  lives  and  to 
perform  the  most  menial  services  of  slaves  in  a  foreign  coun- 
try. I  was  present  at  this  scene,  and  I  assure  you  I  trembled 
before  the  Egyptian  as  he  said  these  words  to  his  enemies. 
Neithotep,  however,  listened  quietly,  and  when  Nebenchari  had 
finished,  answered  him  thus:  'If  thou,  foolish  son,  hast  betrayed 
thy  country  for  the  sake  of  thy  burned  manuscripts  the  deed  has 
been  neither  just  nor  wise.  I  preserved  thy  valuable  works 
with  the  greatest  care,  laid  them  up  in  our  temple  and  sent  a 
complete  copy  to  the  library  at  Thebes.*  Nothing  was  burned 
but  the  letters  from  Amasis  to  thy  father  and  a  worthless  old 
chest.  Psamtik  and  Petammon  were  present,  and  it  was  then 
and  there  resolved  that  a  new  family  tomb  in  the  city  of  the 
dea'd  should  be  built  for  thee  as  a  compensation  for  the  loss  of 
papers,  which,  in  order  to  save  Egypt,  we  were  unfortunately 
forced  to  destroy.  On  its  walls  thou  canst  behold  pleasing 
paintings  of  the  gods  to  whom  thou  hast  devoted  thy  life,  the 
most  sacred  chapters  from  the  book  of  the  dead  and  many 
other  beautiful  pictures  touching  thine  own  life  and  character.'! 

*See  note  pp.  347-348. 

tDescriptions  and  drawings  of  such  ancient  Egyptian  tombs  are  to 
be  found  in  all  the  modern  works  on  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs.  For.  the 
uninitiated  in  such  matters  the  minute  particulars  given  by  Brugsch 
in  his  description  of  the  tomb  of  Ti  will  be  instructive.  The  follow- 
ing inscription  on  a  tomb-stela  in  the  Egyptian  museum  at  Boolak 
(Cairo)  is  particularly  interesting.  ("Mariette's  Catalogue,"  p.  76, 
note  51):  "Oh,  ye  great  ones,  ye  prophets,  priests,  orators,  and  all  ye 
that  shall  come  after  me  in  the  millions  of  years;  if  anyone  shall 
set  my  name  at  the  end  and  set  his  own  name  in  its  place  (on  the 
stela)  God  will  requite  him  with  the  destruction  of  his  likeness 
upon  earth;  if  he  erase  my  name  upon  this,  so  will  God  do  also  unto 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  467 

"The  physician  turned  very  pale,  asked  first  to  see  his  books 
and  then  his  new  and  beautifully  fittecl-up  tomb.  He  then 
gave  his  slaves  their  freedom  (notwithstanding  which  they  were 
still  taken  to  Memphis  as  prisoners  of  war)  and  went  home, 
often  passing  his  hand  across  his  forehead  on  the  way  and  with 
the  uncertain  step  of  one  intoxicated.  On  reaching  his  house 
he  made  a  will  bequeathing  all  he  possessed  to  the  grandson 
of  his  old  servant,  Hib,  and  alleging  that  he  was  ill  went  to 
bed.  The  next  morning  he  was  found  dead.  He  had  poisoned 
himself  with  the  fearful  strychnos-juice."* 

"Miserable  man!"  said  Croesus,  "The  gods  had  blinded 
him  and  he  reaped  despair  instead  of  revenge  as  a  reward  for 
his  treachery." 

"I  pity  him,"  murmured  Rhodopis.  "But,  look,  the  rowers 
are  taking  in  their  oars.  We  are  at  the  end  of  our  journey; 
there  are  your  litters  and  carriages  waiting  for  you.  It  was  a 
beautiful  trip.  Farewell,  my  dear  ones;  come  to  Naukratis 
soon.  I  shall  return  at  once  with  Theopompus  and  Syloson. 
Give  little  Parmys  a  thousand  kisses  from  me,  and  tell  Melitta 
never  to  take  her  out  at  noon.  It  is  dangerous  for  the  eyes. 
Good-night.  Croesus;  good-night,  friends;  farewell,  my  dear 
son." 

The  Persians  left  the  vessel  with  many  a  nod  and  farewell 
word,  and  Bartja,  looking  round  once  more,  missed  his  footing 
and  fell  on  the  landing-pier. 

He  sprang  up  in  a  moment  without  Zopyrus'  help,  who  came 
running  back,  calling  out:  "Take  care,  Bartja!  It's  unlucky 
to  fall  in  stepping  ashore.  I  did  the  very  same  thing  when  we 
left  the  ship  that  time  at  Naukratis." 

him."    At  the  time  in  which  Nebenchari  lived  (during  the  twenty- 
sixth  dynasty)  it  was  customary  to  have  chapters  from  the  ritual  of 
the  dead  painted  on  the  inner  walls  of  the  tombs.    Lepsius,  "Aelteste 
Texte  des  Todtenbuches,"  p.  14,  A.  1. 
*See  note  p.  248. 


468  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


While  our  friends  were  enjoying  their  row  on  the  Nile  Cam- 
byses'  envoy,  Prexaspes,  had  returned  from  a  mission  to  the 
long-lived  Ethiopians.*  He  praised  their  strength  and  stature, 
described  the  way  to  their  country  as  almost  inaccessible  to  a 
large  army,  and  had  plenty  of  marvelous  tales  to  tell.  How,  for 
instance,  they  always  chose  the  strongest  and  handsomest  man 
in  their  nation  for  their  king  and  obeyed  him  unconditionally ; 
how  many  of  them  reached  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
years,  and  some  even  passed  it;  how  they  ate  nothing  but  boiled 
flesh,  drank  new  milk,  and  washed  in  a  spring,  the  waters  of 
which  had  the  scent  of  violets,  gave  a  remarkable  luster  to 
their  skins,  and  were  so  light  that  wood  could  not  swim  in 
them;  how  their  captives  wore  golden  fetters,  because  other 
metals  were  rare  and  dear  in  their  country ;  and,  lastly,  how  they 
covered  the  bodies  of  the  dead  with  plaster  or  stucco,  over 
which  a  coating  of  some  glass-like  material  was  poured,  and 
kept  the  pillars  thus  formed  one  year  in  their  houses,  during 
which  time  sacrifices  were  offered  to  them,  and  at  the  year's 
end  they  were  placed  in  rows  around  the  town. 

The  king  of  this  strange  people  had  accepted  Cambyses'  pres- 
ents, saying,  in  a  scornful  tone,  that  he  knew  well  his  friendship 
was  of  no  importance  to  the  Persians,  and  Prexaspes  had  only 
been  sent  to  spy  out  the  land.  If  the  prince  of  Asia  were  a  just 
man  he  would  be  contented  with  his  own  immense  empire  and 
not  try  to  subjugate  a  people  who  had  done  him  no  wrong. 
"Take  your  king  this  bow,"  he  said,  "and  advise  him  not  to  begin 
the  war  with  us  until  the  Persians  are  able  to  bend  such  weapons 
as  easily  as  we  do.  Cambyses  may  thank  the  gods  that  .the 
Ethiopians  have  never  taken  it  unto  their  heads  to  conquer  coun- 
tries which  do  not  belong  to  them." 

He  then  unbent  his  mighty  bow  of  ebony  and  gave  it  to 
Prexaspes  to  take  to  his  lord. 

Cambyses  laughed  at  the  bragging  African,  invited  his  nobles 
to  a  trial  of  the  bow  the  next  morning,  and  rewarded  Prexaspes 

*"Herod.,"  ii,  20-25. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  469 

for  the  clever  way  in  which  he  had  overcome  the  difficulties  of  his 
journey  and  acquitted  himself  of  his  mission.  He  then  went  to 
rest,  as  usual  intoxicated,  and  fell  into  a  disturbed  sleep,  in 
which  he  dreamed  that  Bartja  was  seated  on  the  throne  of  Per- 
sia and  that  the  crown  of  his  head  touched  the  heavens.* 

This  was  a  dream  which  he  could  interpret  without  the  aid  of 
soothsayer  or  Chaldaean.  It  roused  his  anger  first  and  then 
made  him  thoughtful. 

He  could  not  sleep,  and  such  questions  as  the  following 
came  into  his  mind:  "Haven't  you  given  your  brother  reason 
to  feel  revengeful?  Do  you  think  he  can  forget  that  you  im- 
prisoned and  condemned  him  to  death  when  he  was  innocent? 
And  if  he  should  raise  his  hand  against  you  would  not  all  the 
Achaemenidae  take  his  part?  Have  I  ever  done,  or  have  I  any 
intention  of  ever  doing,  anything  to  win  the  love  of  these  venal 
courtiers?  Since  Nitetis  died  and  that  strange  Greek  fled,  has 
there  been  a  single  human  being  in  whom  I  have  the  least  con- 
fidence or  on  whose  affection  I  can  rely?" 

These  thoughts  and  questionings  excited  him  so  fearfully 
that  he  sprang  from  his  bed,  crying:  "Love  and  I  have  nothing 
to  do  with  one  another.  Other  men  may  be  kind  and  good  if 
they  like;  I  must  be  stern,  or  I  shall  fall  into  the  hands  of  those 
who  hate  me — hate  me  because  I  have  been  just  and  have  vis- 
ited heavy  sins  with  heavy  chastisements.  They  whisper  flat- 
tering words  in  my  ear;  they  curse  me  when  my  back  is  turned. 
The  gods  themselves  must  be  my  enemies,  or  why  do  they  rob 
me  of  everything  I  love,  deny  me  posterity  and  even  that  mili- 
tary glory  which  is  my  just  due?  Is  Bartja  so  much  better  than 
I  that  everything  which  I  am  forced  to  give  up  should  be  his  in 
hundredfold  measure?  Love,  friendship,  fame,  children — every- 
thing flows  to  him  as  the  rivers  to  the  sea,  while  my  heart  is 
parched  like  the  desert.  But  I  am  king  still.  I  can  show  him 
which  is  the  stronger  of  us  two,  and  I  will,  though  his  forehead 
may  touch  the  heavens.  In  Persia  there  can  be  only  one  great 
man.  He  or  I — I  or  he.  In  a  few  days  I'll  send  him  back  to 
Asia  and  make  him  satrap  of  Bactria.  There  he  can  nurse 
his  child  and  listen  to  his  wife's  songs,  while  I  am  winning  glory 
in  Ethiopia  which  it  shall  not  be  in  his  power  to  lessen.  Ho, 


""Herod.,"  iii,  30. 


470  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

there,  dressers,  bring  my  robes  and  a  good  morning-draught 
of  wine.  I'll  show  the  Persians  that  I'm  fit  to  be  king  of 
Ethiopia,  and  can  beat  them  all  at  bending  a  bow.  Here,  give 
me  another  cup  of  wine.  I'd  bend  that  bow  if  it  were  a  young 
cypress  and  its  string  a  cable!"  So  saying,  he  drained  an  im- 
mense bowl  of  wine  and  went  into  the  palace  garden,  conscious 
of  his  enormous  strength  and,  therefore,  sure  of  success. 

All  his  nobles  were  assembled  waiting  for  him  there,  wel- 
comed him  with  loud  acclamations  and  fell  on  their  faces  to  the 
ground  before  the  king. 

Pillars,  connected  by  scarlet  cords,  had  been  quickly  set  up 
between  the  closely  cut  hedges  and  straight  avenues.*  From 
these  cords,  suspended  by  gold  and  silver  rings,  yellow  and 
dark-blue  hangingsf  fluttered  in  the  breeze.  Gilded  wooden 
benches  had  been  placed  round  in  a  large  circle  and  nimble  cup- 
bearers handed  wine  in  costly  vessels  to  the  company  assem- 
bled for  the  shooting-match. 

At  a  sign  from  the  king  the  Achaemenidae  rose  from  the 
earth. 

Cambyses  glanced  over  their  ranks  and  his  face  brightened 
on  seeing  that  Bartja  was  not  there.  Prexaspes  handed  him  the 
Ethiopian  bow  and  pointed  out  a  target  at  some  distance. 
Cambyses  laughed  at  the  large  size  of  the  target,  weighted  the 
bow  with  his  right  hand,  challenged  his  subjects  to  try  their 
fortune  first,  and  handed  the  bow  to  the  aged  Hystaspes  as  the 
highest  in  rank  among  the  Achaemenidae. 

While  Hystaspes  first,  and  then  all  the  heads  of  the  six  other 
highest  families  in  Persia,  were  using  their  utmost  efforts  to 
bend  this  monster  weapon  in  vain,  the  king  emptied  goblet  after 
goblet  of  wine,  his  spirits  rising  as  he  watched  the  vain  endeav- 
ors to  solve  the  Ethiopian's  problem.  At  last  Darius,  who  was 
famous  for  his  skill  in  archery,  took  the  bow.  Nearly  the  same 
result.  The  wood  was  inflexible  as  iron  and  all  his  efforts  only 
availed  to  move  it  one  finger's  breadth.  The  king  gave  him  a 
friendly  nod  in  reward  for  his  success,  and  then,  looking  round 

*See  note  p.  "6. 

f'Book  of  Esther,"  i,  6.  There  the  hangings  are  white,  green  and 
blue  or  v'olet.  (English  version.)  In  the  text  we  have  given  red, 
yellow  and  dark  blue  because  these  were  the  Persian  colors.  See 
p.  438. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  471 

on  his  friends  and  relations  in  a  manner  that  betokened  the 
most  perfect  assurance,  he  said :  "Give  me  the  bow  now,  Darius. 
I  will  show  you  that  there  is  only  one  man  in  Persia  who  de- 
serves the  name  of  king — only  one  who  can  venture  to  take 
the  field  against  the  Ethiopians — only  one  who  can  bend  this 
bow." 

He  grasped  it  tightly  with  his  left  hand,  taking  the  string, 
which  was  as  thick  as  a  man's  finger  and  made  from  the  intes- 
tines of  a  lion,  in  his  right,  fetched  a  deep  breath,  bent  his  mighty 
back  and  pulled  and  pulled ;  collected  his  strength  for  greater 
and  greater  efforts,  strained  his  sinews  till  they  threatened  to 
break,  and  the  veins  in  his  forehead  were  swollen  to  bursting, 
did  not  even  disdain  to  use  his  feet  and  legs,  but  all  in  vain.  After 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  of  almost  superhuman  exertion  his  strength 
gave  way,  the  ebony,  which  he  had  succeeded  in  bending  even 
farther  than  Darius,  flew  back  and  set  all  his  further  endeavors 
at  naught.  At  last,  feeling  himself  thoroughly  exhausted,  he 
dashed  the  bow  onto  the  ground  in  a  passion,  crying:  "The 
Ethiopian  is  a  liar!  no  mortal  man  has  ever  bent  that  bow. 
What  is  impossible  for  my  arm  is  possible  for  no  other.  In 
three  clays  we  will  start  for  Ethiopia.  I  will  challenge  the  im- 
postor to  a  single  combat  and  ye  shall  see  which  is  the  stronger. 
Take  up  the  bow,  Prexaspes,  and  keep  it  carefully.  The  black 
liar  shall  be  strangled  with  his  own  bow-string.  This  wood  is 
really  harder  than  iron,  and  I  confess  that  the  man  who  could 
bend  it  would  really  be  my  master.  I  should  not  be  ashamed 
to  call  him  so,  for  he  must  be  of  better  stuff  than  I." 

As  he  finished  speaking  Bartja  appeared  in  the  circle  of  as- 
sembled Persians.  His  glorious  figure  was  set  off  to  advan- 
tage by  his  rich  dress,  his  features  were  bright  with  happiness 
a,nd  a  feeling  of  conscious  strength.  He  passed  through  the 
ranks  of  the  Achaemenidae  with  many  a  friendly  nod,  which 
was  warmly  returned,  and,  going  straight  to  his  brother,  kissed 
his  robe,  looked  up  frankly  and  cheerfully  into  his  gloomy  eyes, 
and  said:  "I  am  a  little  late,  and  ask  your  forgiveness,  my 
lord  and  brother.  Or  have  I  really  come  in  time?  Yes,  yes, 
I  see  there's  no  arrow  in  the  target  yet,  so  I  am  sure  you,  the 
best  archer  in  the  world,  cannot  have  tried  your  strength  yet. 
But  YOU  look  so  inquiringly  at  me.  Then  I  will  confess  that 
our  child  kept  me.  The  little  creature  laughed  to-day  for  the 


472  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

first  time,  and  was  so  charming  with  its  mother  that  I  forgot  how 
time  was  passing  while  I  watched  them.  You  have  all  full  leave 
to  laugh  at  my  folly;  I  really  don't  know  how  to  excuse  myself. 
See,  the  little  one  has  pulled  the  star  from  the  chain.  But  I 
think,  brother,  you  will  give  me  a  new  one  to-day  if  I  should 
hit  the  bull's  eye.  Shall  I  shoot  first,  or  will  you  begin,  my 
sovereign?" 

"Give  him  the  bow,  Prexaspes,"  said  Cambyses,  not  even 
deigning  to  look  at  his  brother. 

Bartja  took  it  and  was  proceeding  to  examine  the  wood  and 
the  string  when  Cambyses  suddenly  called  out,  with  a  mocking 
laugh:  "By  Mithras,  I  believe  you  want  to  try  your  sweet  looks 
on  the  bow  and  win  its  favor  in  that  fashion,  as  you  do  the 
hearts  of  men.  Give  it  back  to  Prexaspes.  It's  easier  to  play 
with  beautiful  women  and  laughing  children  than  with  a  weapon 
like  this,  which  mocks  the  strength  even  of  real  men." 

Bartja  blushed  with  anger  and  annoyance  at  this  speech, 
which  was  uttered  in  the  bitterest  tone,  picked  up  the  giant  ar- 
row that  lay  before  him,  placed  himself  opposite  the  target, 
summoned  all  his  strength,  bent  the  bow,  by  an  almost  super- 
human effort,  and  sent  the  arrow  into  the  very  center  of  the 
target,  where  its  iron  point  remained,  while  its  wooden  shaft 
split  into  a  hundred  shivers.* 

Most  of  the  Achaemenidae  burst  into  loud  shouts  of  delight 
at  this  marvelous  proof  of  strength;  but  Bartja's  nearest  friends 
turned  pale  and  were  silent;  they  were  watching  the  king, 
who  literally  quivered  with  rage,  and  Bartja,  who  was  radiant 
with  pride  and  joy. 

Cambyses  was  a  fearful  sight  at  that  moment.  It  seemed 
to  him  as  if  that  arrow,  in  piercing  the  target,  had  pierced  his 
own  heart,  his  strength,  dignity  and  honor.  Sparks  floated  be- 
fore his  eyes,  in  his  ears  was  a  sound  like  the  breaking  of  a 
stormy  sea  on  the  shore ;  his  cheeks  glowed  and  he  grasped  the 

*Herodotus  tells  this  story  (iii,  30),  and  we  are  indebted  to  him,  also, 
for  our  information  of  the  events  which  follow.  The  following  inscrip- 
tion, said  to  have  been  placed  over  the  grave  of  Darius  and  com- 
municated by  Onesikritus  ("Strabo,"  730),  proves  that  the  Persians 
were  very  proud  of  being  reputed  good  archers:  "I  was  a  friend 
to  my  friends,  the  best  rider  and  archer,  a  first-rate  hunter;  I  could 
do  everything." 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  473 

• 

arm  of  Prexaspes  who  was  at  his  side.  Prexaspes  only  too  well 
understood  what  that  pressure  meant,  when  given  by  a  royal 
hand,  and  murmured:  "Poor  Bartja!" 

At  last  the  king  succeeded  in  recovering  his  presence  of  mind. 
Without  saying  a  word  he  threw  a  gold  chain  to  his  brother,  or- 
dered his  nobles  to  follow  him  and  left  the  garden,  but  only 
to  wander  restlessly  up  and  down  his  apartments  and  try  to 
drown  his  rage  in  wine.  Suddenly  he  seemed  to  have  formed  a 
resolution  and  ordered  all  the  courtiers,  except  Prexaspes,  to 
leave  the  hall.  When  they  were  alone  he  called  out,  in  a  hoarse 
voice  and  with  a  look  that  proved  the  extent  of  his  intoxication : 
"This  life  is  not  to  be  borne!  Rid  me  of  my  enemy  and  I  will 
call  you  my  friend  and  benefactor." 

Prexaspes  trembled,  threw  himself  at  the  king's  feet  and 
raised  his  hands  imploringly ;  but  Cambyses  was  too  intoxicated 
and  too  much  blinded  by  his  hatred  to  understand  the  action. 
He  fancied  the  prostration  was  meant  as  a  sign  of  devotion  to  his 
will,  signed  to  him  to  rise  and  whispered,  as  if  afraid  of  hearing 
his  own  words:  "Act  quickly  and  secretly;  and,  as  you  value 
your  life,  let  no  one  know  of  the  upstart's  death.  Depart,  and 
when  your  work  is  finished  take  as  much  as  you  like  out  of  the 
treasury.  But  keep  your  wits  about  you.  The  boy  has  a 
strong  arm  and  a  winning  tongue.  Think  of  your  own  wife  and 
children  if  he  tries  to  win  you  over  with  his  smooth  words." 

As  he  spoke  he  emptied  a  fresh  goblet  of  pure  wine,  stag- 
gered through  the  door  of  the  room,  calling  out,  as  he  turned 
his  back  on  Prexaspes:  "Woe  be  to  you  if  that  upstart,  that 
woman's  hero,  that  fellow  who  has  robbed  me  of  my  honor  is 
left  alive." 

Long  after  he  had  left  the  hall  Prexaspes  stood  fixed  on  the 
spot  where  he  had  heard  these  words.  The  man  was  ambitious, 
but  neither  mean  nor  bad,  and  he  felt  crushed  by  the  awful  task 
allotted  to  him.  He  knew  that  his  refusal  to  execute  it  would 
bring  death  or  disgrace  on  himself  and  on  his  family;  but  he 
loved  Bartja,  and  besides,  his  whole  nature  revolted  at  the 
thought  of  becoming  a  common,  hired  murderer.  A  fearful 
struggle  began  in  his  mind  and  raged  long  after  he  left  the 
palace.  On  the  way  home  he  met  Croesus  and  Darius.  He 
fancied  they  would  see  from  his  looks  that  he  was  already  _on 
the  wav  to  a  great  crime  and  hid  himself  behind  the  projecting 


474  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

• 

gate  of  a  large  Egyptian  house.  As  they  passed,  he  heard 
Croesus  say:  "I  reproached  him  bitterly,  little  as  he  deserves 
reproach  in  general,  for  having  given  such  an  inopportune  proof 
of  his  great  strength.  We  may  really  thank  the  gods  that  Cam- 
byses  did  not  lay  violent  hands  on  him  in  a  fit  of  passion.  He 
has  followed  my  advice  now  and  gone  with  his  wife  to  Sais.  For 
the  next  few  days  Bartja  must  not  come  near  the  king;  the 
mere  sight  of  him  might  rouse  his  anger  again,  and  a  monarch 
can  always  find  unprincipled  servants — 

The  rest  of  the  sentence  died  away  in  the  distance,  but  the 
words  he  had  heard  were  enough  to  make  Prexaspes  start  as 
if  Croesus  had  accused  him  of  the  shameful  deed.  He  resolved 
in  that  moment  that,  come  what  would,  his  hands  should  not  be 
stained  with  the  blood  of  a  friend.  This  resolution  restored 
him  his  old  erect  bearing  and  firm  gait  for  the  time,  but  when 
he  reached  the  dwelling  which  had  been  assigned  as  his  abode 
in  Sais  Ms  two  boys  ran  to  the  door  to  meet  him.-  They  had 
stolen  away  from  the  playgrounds  of  the  sons  of  the  Achaemen- 
idae  (who,  as  was  always  the  case,  had  accompanied  the  king 
and  the  army)  to  see  their  father  for  a  moment.  He  felt  a 
strange  tenderness  which  he  could  not  explain  to  himself  on 
taking  them  in  his  arms,  and  kissed  the  beautiful  boys  once  more 
on  their  telling  him  that  they  must  go  back  to  their  playground 
again  or  they  should  be  punished.  Within,  he  found  his  favor- 
ite wife  playing  with  their  youngest  child,  a  sweet  little  girl. 
Again  the  same  strange,  inexplicable  feeling  of  tenderness.  He 
overcame  it  this  time  for  fear  of  betraying  his  secret  to  his 
young  wife  and  retired  to  his  own  apartment  early. 

Night  had  come  on. 

The  sorely  tried  man  could  not  sleep;  he  turned  restlessly 
from  side  to  side.  The  fearful  thought  that  his  refusal  to  do 
the  king's  will  would  be  the  ruin  of  his  wife  and  children  stood 
before  his  wakeful  eyes  in  the  most  vivid  colors.  The  strength 
to  keep  his  good  resolution  forsook  him,  and  even  Croesus' 
words,  which,  when  he  first  heard  them  had  given  his  nobler 
feelings  the  victory,  now  came  in  as  a  power  on -the  other  side. 
"A  monarch  can  always  find  unprincipled  servants."  Yes,  the 
words  were  an  affront,  but  at  the  same  time  a  reminder  that 
though  he  might  defy  the  king's  command  a  hundred  others 
would  be  ready  to  obey  it.  No  sooner  had  this  thought  become 
clear  to  him  than  he  started  up,  examined  a  number  of  daggers 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  475 

which  hung  carefully  arranged  above  his  bed  and  laid  the  sharp- 
est on  the  little  table  before  him. 

He  then  began  to  pace  the  room  in  deep  thought,  often  going 
to  the  opening  which  served  as  a  window  to  cool  his  burning 
forehead  and  see  if  dawn  were  near. 

When,  at  last,  daylight  appeared,  he  heard  the  sounding- 
brass*  calling  the  boys  to  early  prayer.  That  reminded  him  of 
his  sons  and  he  examined  the  dagger  a  second  time.  A  troop 
of  gayly  dressed  courtiers  rode  by  on  their  way  to  the  king.  He 
put  the  dagger  in  his  girdle ;  and,  at  last,  on  hearing  the  merry 
laughter  of  his  youngest  child  sound  from  the  women's  apart- 
ments, he  set  the  tiara  hastily  on  his  head,  left  the  house  without 
taking  leave  of  his  wife,  and,  accompanied  by  a  number  of  slaves, 
went  down  to  the  Nile.  There  he  threw  himself  into  a  boat  and 
ordered  the  rowers  to  take  him  to  Sais. 


A  few  hours  after  the  fatal  shooting-match  Bartja  had  fol- 
lowed Croesus'  advice  and  had  gone  off  to  Sais  with  his  young 
wife.  They  found  Rhodopis  there.  She  had  yielded  to  an 
irresistible  impulse,  and,  instead  of  returning  to  Naukratis,  had 
stopped  at  Sais.  Bartja's  fall  on  stepping  ashore  had  disturbed 
her,  and  she  had  with  her  own  eyes  seen  an  owl  fly  from  the 
left  side  close  by  his  head.  These  evil  omens,  to  a  heart  which 
had  by  no  means  outgrown  the  superstitions  of  the  age,  added 
to  a  confused  succession  of  distressing  dreams  which  had  dis- 
turbed her  slumbers;  and  her  usual  wish  to  be  ahvays  near 
Bartja  and  Sappho  led  her  to  decide  quickly  on  waiting  for  her 
granddaughter  at  Sais. 

Bartja  and  Sappho  were  delighted  to  find  such  a  welcome 
guest,  and  after  she  had  dandled  and  played  with  her  great 
grandchildren,  the  little  Parmys,f  to  her  heart's  content,  they 
led  her  to  the  rooms  which  had  been  prepared  for  her.  They 
were  the  same  in  which  the  unhappy  Tachot  had  spent  the  last 

*See  p.  181. 

tHerodotus  states  that  besides  Atossa,  etc.,  Darius  took  a  daughter 
of  the  deceased  Bartja,  named  Parmys,  to  be  his  wife,  "Herod.,"  iii, 
88.  She  is  also  mentioned  in  vii.  78. 


476  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

months  of  her  fading  existence.  Rhodopis  could  not  see  all 
the  little  trifles  which  showed  not  only  the  age  and  sex  of  the 
former  occupant,  but  her  tastes  and  disposition,  without  feeling 
very  sad.  On  the  dressing-table  were  a  number  of  little  oint- 
ment-boxes and  small  bottles  for  perfumes,  cosmetics,  washes 
and  oils.*  Two  larger  boxes,  one  in  the  form  of  a  Nile  goose, f 
and  another,  on  the  side  of  which  a  woman  playing  on  a  lute 
had  been  painted,  had  once  contained  the  princess'  costly  golden 
ornaments,  and  the  metal  mirror,  with  a  handle  in  the  form  of  a 
sleeping  maiden,!  had  once  reflected  her  beautiful  face  with  its 
pale  pink  flush.  Everything  in  the  room,  from  the  elegant  lit- 
tle couch  resting  on  the  lions'  claws,  to  the  delicately  carved 
ivory  combs§  on  the  toilet-table,  proved  that  the  outward  adorn- 
ments of  life  had  possessed  much  charm  for  the  former  owner 
of  these  rooms.  The  golden  sistrum  and  the  delicately  wrought 
nabla,  the  strings  of  which  had  long  ago  been  broken,  testified 
to  her  taste  for  music,  while  the  broken  spindle]]  in  the  corner 
and  some  unfinished  nets  of  glass  beads^[  showed  that  she  had 
been  fond  of  woman's  usual  work. 

It  was  a  sad  picture  to  Rhodopis  to  examine  all  these  things, 
and  the  picture  which  she  drew  in  her  own  mind  of  Tachot  after 
the  inspection  differed  very  little  from  the  reality.  At  last, 
interest  and  curiosity  led  her  to  a  large  painted  chest.  She 
lifted  the  light  cover  and  found,  first,  a  few  dried  flowers ;  then 
a  ball,  round  which  some  skillful  hand  had  wreathed  roses  and 
leaves,  once  fresh  and  bright,  now,  alas!  long  ago  dead  and 

""Wilkinson,"  iii,  381,  383.  We  learn  from  the  monuments  that 
the  Egyptians  were  accustomed  to  anoint  themselves  in  divers  ways 
from  a  very  early  period.  We  read  of  a  paint  for  the  eyes  called 
mestem  as  early  as  the  twelfth  dynasty.  The  staining  of  the  finger- 
nails, so  customary  still  in  Egypt,  was  practiced  in  the  time  of  the 
Pharaohs  (this  can  be  proved  by  the  mummies),  and  perfumed  locks 
were  indispensable  to  a  beauty  of  those  days.  "Papyr.  d'Orb.,"  ix,  3. 
Plut.,  "Isis  and  Osiris,"  15. 

tFrom  "Wilkinson,"  ii,  360.    Leyden  museum. 

JFrom  the  handle  of  a  saucer  or  vase  used  for  ornaments,  in  "Wil- 
kinson," ii,  359.  See,  also,  "Wilkinson,"  iii,  386,  1,  2. 

§Combs  found  at  Thebes.    "Wilkinson,"  iii,  381. 

||See  note  pp.  402-403. 

flBead-work  has  been  found  on  very  many  of  the  mummies  in 
almost  all  the  larger  museums.  In  "Wilkinson,"  iii,  90,  101,  is  a  draw- 
ing of  the  celebrated  large  glass  bead  in  which  a  hieroglyphic  inscrip- 
tion has  been  cut. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  477 

withered.  Beside  these  were  a  number  of  amulets  in  different 
forms,  one  representing  the  goddess  of  truth,  another  contain- 
ing spells  written  on  a  strip  of  papyrus  and  concealed  in  a  little 
gold  case.  Then  her  eyes  fell  on  some  letters  written  in  the  Greek 
character.  She  read  them  by  the  light  of  the  lamp.  They  were 
from  Nitetis  in  Persia  to  her  supposed  sister,  and  were  written 
in  ignorance  of  the  latter's  illness.  When  Rhodopis  laid  them, 
down  her  eyes  were  full  of  tears.  The  dead  girl's  secret  lay 
open  before  her.  She  knew  now  that  Tachot  had  loved  Bartja, 
that  he  had  given  her  the  faded  flowers,  and  that  she  had 
wreathed  the  ball  with  roses  because  he  had  thrown  it  to  her. 
The  amulets  must  have  been  intended  either  to  heal  her  sick 
heart  or  to  awaken  love  in  his. 

As  she  was  putting  the  letters  back  in  their  old  place  she 
touched  some  cloths  which  seemed  put  in  to  fill  up  the  bottom 
of  the  chest,  and  felt  a  hard,  round  substance  underneath.  She 
raised  them,  and  discovered  a  bust  made  of  colored  wax,  such 
a  wonderfully  exact  portrait  of  Nitetis  that  an  involuntary  ex- 
clamation of  surprise  broke  from  her,  and  it  was  long  before 
she  could  turn  her  eyes  away  from  Theodorus'  marvelous  work. 

She  went  to  rest  and  fell  asleep,  thinking  of  the  sad  fate  of 
Nitetis,  the  Egyptian  princess. 

The  next  morning  Rhodopis  went  into  the  garden — the  same 
into  which  we  led  our  readers  during  the  lifetime  of  Amasis — 
and  found  Bartja  and  Sappho  in  an  arbor  overgrown  with 
vines. 

Sappho  was  seated  on  a  light  wicker-work  chair.  Her  child 
lay  on  her  lap,  stretching  out  its  little  hands  and  feet,  sometimes 
to*  its  father,  who  was  kneeling  on  the  ground  before  them,  and 
then  to  its  mother,  whose  laughing  face  was  bent  down  over 
her  little  one. 

Bartja  was  very  happy  with  his  child.  When  the  little  crea- 
ture buried  its  tiny  fingers  in  his  curls  and  beard  he  would  draw 
his  head  back  to  feel  the  strength  of  the  little  hand,  would  kiss 
its  rosy  feet,  its  round  white  shoulders  and  dimpled  arms. 
Sappho  enjoyed  the  fun,  always  trying  to  draw  the  little  one's 
attention  to  its  father. 

Sometimes,  when  she  stooped  down  to  kiss  the  rosy  baby  lips, 
her  forehead  would  touch  his  curls  and  he  would  steal  the  kiss 
meant  for  the  little  Parmvs. 


478  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

Rhodopis  watched  them  for  a  long  time  unperceived,  and, 
with  tears  of  joy  in  her  eyes,  prayed  the  gods  that  they  might 
long  be  as  happy  as  they  now  were.  At  last  she  came  into  the 
arbor  to  wish  them  good-morning' and  bestowed  much  praise 
on  old  Melitta  for  appearing  at  the  right  moment,  parasol  in 
hand,  to  take  her  charge  out  of  the  sunshine  before  it  became 
too  bright  and  hot,  and  put  her  to  sleep. 

The  old  slave  had  been  appointed  head-nurse  to  the  high- 
born child,  and  acquitted  herself  in  her  new  office  with  an 
amount  of  importance  which  was  very  comical.  Hiding  her 
old  limbs  under  rich  Persian  robes,  she  moved  about  exulting 
in  the  new  and  delightful  right  to  command,  and  kept  her  in- 
feriors in  perpetual  motion. 

Sappho  followed  Melitta  into  the  palace,  first  whispering  in 
her  husband's  ear  with  her  arm  round  his  neck:  "Tell  my 
grandmother  everything  and  ask  whether  you  are  right." 

Before  he  could  answer  she  had  stopped  his  mouth  with  a 
kiss,  and  then  hurried  after  the  old  woman,  who  was  departing 
with  dignified  steps. 

The  prince  smiled  as  he  watched  her  graceful  walk  and  beau- 
tiful figure,  and  said,  turning  to  Rhodopis:  "Does  not  it  strike 
you  that  she  has  grown  taller  lately?" 

"It  seems  so,"  answered  Rhodopis.  "A  woman's  girlhood 
has  its  own  peculiar  charm,  but  her  true  dignity  comes  with 
motherhood.  It  is  the  feeling  of  having  fulfilled  her  destiny 
which  raises  her  head  and  makes  us  fancy  she  has  grown  taller." 

"Yes,"  said  Bartja,  "I  think  she  is  happy.  Yesterday  our 
opinions  differed  for  the  first  time,  and  as  she  was  leaving  us 
just  now  she  begged  me,  privately,  to  lay  the  question  before 
you,  which  I  am  very  glad  to  do,  for  I  honor  your  experience 
and  wisdom  just  as  much  as  I  love  her  child-like  inexperience." 

Bartja  then  told  the  story  of  the  unfortunate  shooting-match, 
finishing  with  these  words:  "Croesus  blames  my  imprudence, 
but  I  know  my  brother;  I  know  that  when  he  is  angry  he  is 
capable  of  any  act  of  violence,  and  it  is  not  impossible  that  at 
the  moment  when  he  felt  himself  defeated  he  could  have  killed 
me;  but  I  know,  too,  that  when  his  fierce  passion  has  cooled 
he  will  forget  my  boastful  deed,  and  only  try  to  excel  me  by 
others  of  the  same  kind.  A  year  ago  he  was,  by  far,  the  best 
marksman  in  Persia,  and  would  be  still,  if  drink  and  epilepsv 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  479 

had  not  undermined  his  strength.     I  must  confess  I  feel  as  if  I 
were  becoming  stronger  every  day." 

"Yes,"  interrupted  Rhodopis,  "pure  happiness  strengthens 
a  man's  arm  just  as  it  adds  to  the  beauty  of  a  woman,  while  in- 
temperance and  mental  distress  ruin  both  body  and  mind  far 
more*surely  even  than  old  age.  My  son,  beware  of  your  brother; 
his  strong  arm  has  become  paralyzed,  and  his  generosity  can  be 
forfeited,  too.  Trust  my  experience  that  the  man  who  is  the 
slave  of  one  evil  passion  is  very  seldom  master  of  the  rest;  be- 
sides which,  no  one  feels  humiliation  so  bitterly  as  he  who  is 
sinking — who  knows  that  his  powers  are  forsaking  him.  I  say 
again,  beware  of  your  brother,  and  trust  the  voice  of  experience 
more  than  that  of  your  own  heart,  which,  because  it  is  generous 
itself,  believes  everyone  else  to  be  so." 

"I  see,"  said  Bartja,  "that  you  will  take  Sappho's  side.  Dif- 
ficult as  it  will  be  for  her  to  part  from  you  she  has  still  begged 
me  to  return  with  her  to  Persia.  She  thinks  that  Cambyses 
may  forget  his  anger  when  I  am  out  of  sight.  I  thought  she 
was  overanxious,  and,  besides,  it  would  disappoint  me  not  to 
take  part  in  the  expedition  against  the  Ethiopians." 

"But  I  entreat  you,"  interrupted  Rhodopis,  "to  follow  her 
advice.  The  gods  only  know  what  pain  it  will  give  me  to  lose 
you  both,  and  yet  I  repeat  a  thousand  times :  Go  back  to  Per- 
sia, and  remember  that  none  but  fools  stake  life  and  happiness 
to  no  purpose.  As  to  the  war  with  Ethiopia,  it  is  mere  mad- 
ness ;  instead  of  subduing  those  black  inhabitants  of  the  south, 
you  yourselves  will  be  conquered  by  heat,  thirst  and  all  the 
horrors  of  the  desert.  In  saying  this  I  refer  to  the  campaigns 
in  general ;  as  to  your  own  share  in  them  I  can  only  say  that  if 
no  fame  is  to  be  won  there,  you  will  be  putting  your  own  life 
and  the  happiness  of  your  family  in  jeopardy  literally  for  noth- 
ing, and  that  if,  on  the  other  hand,  you  should  distinguish  your- 
self again,  it  would  only  be  giving  fresh  cause  of  jealousy  and 
anger  to  your  brother.  No,  go  to  Persia  as  soon  as  you  can." 

Bartja  was  just  beginning  to  make  various  objections  to  these 
arguments  when  he  caught  sight  of  Prexaspes  coming  up  to 
them,  looking  very  pale. 

After  the  usual  greeting  the  envoy  whispered  to  Bartja  that 
he  should  like  to  speak  with  him  alone.  Rhodopis  left  them 
at  once,  and  he  began  playing  with  the  rings  on  his  right  hand 


480  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

as  he  spoke  in  a  constrained,  embarrassed  way.  "I  come  from 
the  king.  Your  display  of  strength  irritated  him  yesterday, 
and  he  does  not  wish  to  see  you  again  for  some  time.  His  or- 
ders are  that  you  set  out  for  Arabia  to  buy  up  all  the  camels* 
that  are  to  be  had.  As  these  animals  can  bear  thirst  very  long, 
they  are  to  be  used  in  conveying  food  and  water  for  our,  army 
on  the  Ethiopian  campaign.  There  must  be  no  delay.  Take 
leave  of  your  wife,  and  (I  speak  by  the  king's  command)  be 
ready  to  start  before  dark.  You  will  be  absent  at  least  a  month. 
I  am  to  accompany  you  as  far  as  Pelusium,  Kassandane  wishes 
to  have  your  wife  and  child  near  her  during  your  absence.  Send 
them  to  Memphis  as  soon  as  possible;  under  the  protection  of 
the  queen-mother  they  will  be  in  safety." 

Prexaspes'  short,  constrained  way  of  speaking  did  not  strike 
Bartja.  He  rejoiced  at  what  seemed  to  him  great  moderation 
on  the  part  of  his  brother,  and  at  receiving  a  commission  which 
relieved  him  of  all  doubt  on  the  question  of  leaving  Egypt,  gave 
his  friend  (as  he  supposed  him  to  be)  his  hand  to  kiss  and  an 
invitation  to  follow  him  into  the  palace. 

In  the  cool  of  the  evening  he  took  a  short  but  very  affection- 
ate farewell  of  Sappho  and  his  child,  who  was  asleep  in  Melitta's 
arms,  told  his  wife  to  set  out  as  soon  as  possible  on  her  journey 
to  Kassandane,  called  out  jestingly  to  his  mother-in-law  that  at 
least  this  time  she  had  been  mistaken  in  her  judgment  of  a  man's 
character  (meaning  his  brother's),  and  sprang  on  his  horse. 

As  Prexaspes  was  mounting,  Sappho  whispered  to  him, 
"Take  care  of  that  reckless  fellow,  and  remind  him  of  me  and 
his  child  when  you  see  him  running  into  unnecessary  danger." 

"I  shall  have  to  leave  him  at  Pelusium,"  answered  the  envoy, 
busying  himself  with  the  bridle  of  his  horse  in  order  to  avoid 
meeting  her  eyes. 

"Then  may  the  gods  take  him  into  their  keeping!"  exclaimed 
Sappho,  clasping  her  husband's  hand,  and  bursting  into  tears 

*Camels  are  never  represented  on  the  Egyptian  monuments,  where- 
as they  were  in  great  use  among  the  Arabians  and  Persians,  and  are 
now  a  necessity  on  the  Nile.  They  must  have  existed  in  Egypt,  how- 
ever. Hekekyan-Bey  discovered  the  bones  of  a  dromedary  in  a  deep 
bore.  Representations  of  these  creatures  were  probably  forbidden. 
We  know  this  was  the  case  with  the  cock,  of  which  bird  there  were 
large  numbers  in  Egypt.  It  is  remarkable  that  camels  were  not  in- 
troduced into  Barbary  until  after  the  birth  of  Christ.  H.  Earth, 
"Wanderungen  am  Gestade  des  Mittelmeers,"  p.  3. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  481 

which  she  r.mld  not  keep  back,  i'.artja  looked  down  and  saw 
his  usually  so  trustful  wife  in  tears.  He  felt  sadder  than  he  had 
ever  felt  before.  Stooping  down  lovingly  from  his  saddle  he 
pat  his  strong  arm  round  her  waist,  lifted  her  up  to  him,  and  as 
she  stood  supporting  herself  on  his  foot  in  the  stirrup,  pressed 
her  to  his  heart  as  if  for  a  long  last  farewell.  He  then  let  her 
safely  and  gently  to  the  ground,  took  his  child  up  to  him  on  the 
saddle,  kissed  and  fondled  the  little  creature,  and  told  her,  laugh- 
ingly, to  make  her  mother  very  happy  while  he  was  away,  ex- 
changed some  warm  words  of  farewell  with  Rhodopis,  and  then, 
spurring  his  horse  till  the  creature  reared,  dashed  through  the 
gateway  of  the  Pharaohs'  palace,  with  Prexaspes  at  his  side. 

When  the  sound  of  the  horses'  hoofs  had  died  away  in  the 
distance  Sappho  laid  her  head  on  her  grandmother's  shoulder 
and  wept  uncontrollably.  Rhodopis  remonstrated  and  blamed, 
but  all  in  vain ;  she  could  not  stop  her  tears. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


On  the  morning  after  the  trial  of  the  bow  Cambyses  was 
seized  by  such  a  violent  attack  of  his  old  illness  that  he  was 
forced  to  keep  his  room  for  two  days  and  nights,  ill  in  mind  and 
body;  at  times  raging  like  a  madman,  at  others  weak  and  pow- 
erless as  a  little  child. 

On  the  third  day  he  recovered  consciousness  and  remem- 
bered the  awful  charge  he  had  laid  on  Prexaspes,  and  that  it 
was  only  too  possible  he  might  have  executed  it  already.  At 
this  thought  he  trembled  as  he  had  never  trembled  in  his  life 
before.  He  sent  at  once  for  the  envoy's  eldest  son,  who  was 
one  of  the  royal  cup-bearers.  The  boy  said  his  father  had  left 
Memphis  without  taking  leave  of  his  family.  He  then  sent 
for  Darius,  Zopyrus  and  Gyges,  knowing  how  tenderly  they 
loved  Bartja,  and  inquired  after  their  friend.  On  hearing  from 
them  that  he  was  at  Sais  he  sent  the  three  youths  thither  at  once, 
charging  them,  if  they  met  Prexaspes  on  the  way,  to  send  him 


482  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

back  to  Memphis  without  delay.  This  haste  and  the  king's 
strange  behavior  were  quite  incomprehensible  to  the  young 
Achaemenidae ;  nevertheless,  they  set  out  on  their  journey  with 
all  speed,  fearing  that  something  must  be  wrong. 

Cambyses,  meanwhile,  was  miserably  restless,  inwardly  cursed 
the  habit  of  drinking  and  tasted  no  wine  the  whole  of  that  day. 
Seeing  his  mother  in  the  palace  gardens  he  avoided  her;  he 
dared  not  meet  her  eye. 

The  next  eight  days  passed  without  any  sign  of  Prexaspes1 
return ;  they  seemed  to  the  king  like  a  year.  A  hundred  times 
he  sent  for  the  young  cup-bearer  and  asked  if  his  father  had 
returned;  a  hundred  times  he  received  the  same  disappointing 
answer. 

At  sunset  on  the  thirteenth  day  Kassandane  sent  to  beg  a  visit 
from  him.  The  king  went  at  once,  for  now  he  longed  to  look 
on  the  face  of  his  mother;  he  fancied  it  might  give  him  back 
his  lost  sleep. 

After  he  had  greeted  her  with  a  tenderness  so  rare  from  him 
that  it  astonished  her  he  asked  for  what  reason  she  had  desired 
his  presence.  She  answered  that  Bartja's  wife  had  arrived  at 
Memphis  under  singular  circumstances  and  had  said  she  wished 
to  present  a  gift  to  Cambyses.'  He  gave  Sappho  an  audience 
at  once  and  heard  from  her  that  Prexaspes  had  brought  her 
husband  an  order  to  start  for  Arabia,  and  herself  a  summons  to 
Memphis  from  the  queen-mother.  At  these  words  the  king 
turned  very  pale  and  his  features  were  agitated  with  pain  as  he 
looked  at  his  brother's  lovely  young  wife.  She  felt  that  some- 
thing unusual  was  passing  in  his  mind,  and  such  dreadful  fore- 
bodings arose  in  her  own  that  she  could  only  offer  him  the  gift 
in  silence  and  with  trembling  hands. 

"My  husband  sends  you  this,"  she  said,  pointing  to  the  in- 
geniously wrought  box  which  contained  the  wax  likeness  of 
Nitetis.  Rhodopis  had  advised  her  to  take  this  to  the  king  in 
Bartja's  name  as  a  propitiatory  offering. 

Cambyses  showed  no  curiosity  as  to  the  contents  of  the  box, 
gave  it  in  charge  of  a  eunuch,  said  a  few  words  which  seemed 
meant  as  thanks  to  his  sister-in-law,  and  left  the  women's  apart- 
ments without  even  so  much  as  inquiring  after  Atossa,  whose 
existence  he  seemed  to  have  forgotten. 

He  had  come  to  his  mother  believing  that  the  visit  would 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  483 

comfort  and  calm  his  troubled  mind,  but  Sappho's  words  had 
destroyed  his  last  hope  and  with  that  his  last  possibility  of  rest 
or  peace.  By  this  time  either  Prexaspes  would  already  have 
committed  the  murder,  or,  perhaps,  at  that  very  moment  might 
be  raising  his  dagger  to  plunge  it  into  Bartja's  heart.  How 
could  he  ever  meet  his  mother  again  after  Bartja's  death?  How 
could  he  answer  her  questions  or  those  of  that  lovely  Sappho, 
whose  large,  anxious,  appealing  eyes  had  touched  him  so 
strangely  ? 

A  voice  within  told  him  that  his  brother's  murder  would  be 
branded  as  a  cowardly,  unnatural  and  unjust  deed,  and  he  shud- 
dered at  the  thought.  It  seemed  fearful,  unbearable  to  be 
called  an  assassin.  He  had  already  caused  the  death  of  many  a 
man  without  the  least  compunction,  but  that  had  been  done 
either  in  fair  fight  or  openly  before  the  world.  He  was  king, 
and  what  the  king  did  was  right.  Had  he  killed  Bartja  with 
his  own  hand,  his  conscience  would  not  have  reproached  him; 
but  to  have  had  him  privately  put  out  of  the  way  after  he  had 
given  so  many  proofs  of  possessing  first-rate  manly  qualities, 
which  deserved  the  highest  praise — this  tortured  him  with  a 
feeling  of  rage  at  his  own  want  of  principle — a  feeling  of  shame 
and  remorse  which  he  had  never  known  before.  He  began  to 
despise  himself.  The  consciousness  of  having  acted  and  wished 
to  act  justly  forsook  him,  and  he  began  to  fancy  that  everyone 
who  had  been  executed  by  his  orders  had  been,  like  Bartja,  an 
innocent  victim  of  his  fierce  anger.  These  thoughts  became 
so  intolerable  that  he  began  to  drink  once  more  in  the  hope  of 
drowning  them.  But  now  the  wine  had  precisely  the  opposite 
effect  and  brought  such  tormenting  thoughts,  that,  worn  out 
as  he  was  already  by  epileptic  fits  and  his  habit  of  drinking,  both 
body  and  mind  threatened  to  give  way  to  the  agitation  caused 
by  the  events  of  the  last  months.  Burning  and  shivering  by 
turns  he  was,  at  last,  forced  to  lie  down.  While  the  attendants 
were  disrobing  him  he  remembered  his  brother's  present,  had 
the  box  fetched  and  opened,  and  then  desired  to  be  left  alone. 
The  Egyptian  paintings  on  the  outside  of  the  box  reminded  him 
of  Nitetis,  and  then  he  asked  himself  what  she  would  have 
said  to  his  deed.  Fever  had  already  begun,  and  his  mind  was 
wandering  as  he  took  the  beautiful  wax  bust  out  of  the  box. 
He  stared  in  horror  at  the  dull,  immovable  eyes.  The  likeness 


484  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

was  so  perfect  and  his  judgment  so  weakened  by  wine  and 
fever  that  he  fancied  himself  the  victim  of  some  spell,  and  yet 
could  not  turn  his  eyes  from  those  clear  features.  Suddenly  the 
eyes  seemed  to  move.  He  was  seized  with  terror,  and,  in  a  kind 
of  convulsion,  hurled  what  he  thought  had  become  a  living 
head  against  the  wall.  The  hollow  brittle  wax  broke  into  a 
thousand  fragments  and  Cambyses  sank  back  onto  his  bed -with 
a  groan. 

From  that  moment  the  fever  increased.  In  his  delirium  the 
banished  Phanes  appeared  singing  a  scornful  Greek  song  and 
deriding  him  in  such  infamous  words  that  his  fists  clinched  with 
rage.  Then  he  saw  his  friend  and  adviser,  Croesus,  threatening 
him  in  the  very  same  words  of  warning  which  he  had  used  when 
Bartja  had  been  sentenced  to  death  by  his  command  on  account 
of  Nitetis:  "Beware  of  shedding  a  brother's  blood;  the  smoke 
thereof  will  rise  to  heaven  and  become  a  cloud  that  must  darken 
the  days  of  the  murderer  and  at  last  cast  down  the  lightnings  of 
vengeance  upon  his  head." 

And  in  his  delirious  fancy  this  figure  of  speech  became  a 
reality.  A  rain  of  blood  streamed  down  upon  him  from  dark 
clouds;  his  clothes  and  hands  were  wet  with  the  loathsome 
moisture.  He  went  down  to  the  Nile  to  cleanse  himself  and 
suddenly  saw  Nitetis  coming  toward  him.  She  had  the  same 
sweet  smile  with  which  Theodorus  had  modeled  her.  En- 
chanted with  this  lovely  vision  he  fell  down  before  her  and  took 
her  hand,  but  he  had  scarcely  touched  it  when  drops  of  blood 
appeared  at  the  tips  of  her  delicate  fingers  and  she  turned  away 
from  him  with  every  sign  of  horror.  He  humbly  implored  her 
to  forgive  him  and  come  back;  she  remained  inexorable.  He 
grew  angry  and  threatened  her,  first  with  his  wrath  and  then 
with  awful  punishments.  At  last,  as  she  only  answered  his 
threats  by  a  low,  scornful  laugh,  he  ventured  to  throw  his  dag- 
ger at  her.  She  crumbled  at  once  into  a  thousand  piece?  like 
the  wax  statue.  But  the  derisive  laughter  echoed  on  and  be- 
came louder.  Many  voices  joined  in  it,  each  trying  to  outbid 
the  other.  And  the  voices  of  Bartja  and  Nitetis  were  the  loud- 
est— their  tone  the  most  bitter.  At  last  he  could  bear  these 
fearful  sounds  no  longer  and  stopped  his  ears;  this  was  of  no 
use  and  he  buried  his  head,  first  in  the  glowing  desert  sand  and 
then  in  the  icy-cold  Nile  water,  until  his  senses  forsook  him. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  485 

On  awaking  the  actual  state  of  things  seemed  incomprehensible 
to  him.  He  had  gone  to  bed  in  the  evening,  and  yet  he  now 
saw  by  the  direction  of  the  sun's  rays  which  fell  on  his  bed  that 
instead  of  dawning  as  he  had  expected  the  day  was  growing 
dark.  There  could  be  no  mistake;  he  heard  the  chorus  of 
priests  singing  farewell  to  the  setting  Mithras. 

Then  he  heard  a  number  of  people  moving  behind  a  curtain 
which  had  been  hung  up  at  the  head  of  his  bed.  He  tried  to 
turn  in  his  bed,  but  could  not;  he  was  too  weak.  At  last, 
finding  it  impossible  to  discover  whether  he  was  in  real  life  or 
still  in  a  dream,  he  called  for  his  dressers  and  the  courtiers  who 
were  accustomed  to  be  present  when  he  rose.  They  appeared 
in  a  moment,  and  with  them  his  mother,  Prexaspes,  a  number 
of  the  learned  among  the  Magi  and  some  Egyptians  who  were 
unknown  to  him.  They  told  him  that  he  had  been  lying  in 
a  violent  fever  for  weeks,  .-and  had  only  escaped  death  by  the 
special  mercy  of  the  gods,  the  skill  of  the  physicians  and  the  un- 
wearied nursing  of  his  mother.  He  looked  inquiringly,  first  at 
Kassandane,  then  at  Prexaspes,  lost  consciousness  again  and 
fell  into  a  deep  sleep,  from  which  he  awoke  the  next  morning 
with  renewed  strength. 

In  four  days  he  was  strong  enough  to  sit  up  and  able  to  ques- 
tion Prexaspes  on  the  only  subject  which  occupied  his  thoughts. 

In  consideration  of  his  masters  weakness  the  envoy  was  be- 
ginning an  evasive  reply,  when  a  threatening  movement  of  the 
king's  gaunt,  worn  hand  and  a  look  which  had  by  no  means 
lost  its  old  power  of  awing  into  submission,  brought  him  to  the 
point  at  once,  and  in  the  hope  of  giving  the  king  a  great  pleas- 
ure and  putting  his  mind  completely  at  rest  he  began:  "Re- 
joice. O  king!  the  youth  who  dared  to  desire  the  disparage- 
ment of  thy  glory  is  no  more.  This  hand  slew  him  and  buried 
his  body  at  Baal-Zephon.  The  sand  of  the  desert  and  the  un- 
fruitful waves  of  the  Red  Sea  were  the  only  witnesses  of  the 
deed;*  and  no  creature  knows  thereof  besides  thyself,  O  king, 
thy  servant  Prexaspes  and  the  gulls  and  cormorants  that  hover 
over  his  grave." 

"•"Herodotus"  (iii.  30)  says:    "Some  say  that  after  the  Prexaspes 
had    led    Bartja    to    the    Red    sea    (?c  rf/v  ''Epvfioqv  dakaaaav    . 
irpntrnynjti™  ).  he  murdered  him  there."  It.  is  possible,  but  by  110  means 
certain' that,  in  this  place  Herodotus  is  speaking  of  the  Persian  gulf. 


486  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

The  king  uttered  a  piercing  shriek  of  rage,  was  seized  by  a 
fresh  shivering  fit  and  sank  back  once  mo.re  in  raving  delirium. 

Long  weeks  passed,  every  day  of  which  threatened  his  death. 
At  last,  however,  his  strong  constitution  gained  the  day,  but 
his  mind  had  given  way,  and  remained  disordered  and  weak  up 
to  his  last  hour. 

When  he  was  strong  enough  to  leave  the  sick-room  and  to 
ride  and  shoot  once  more  he  abandoned  himself  more  than  ever 
to  the  pleasure  of  drinking  and  lost  every  remnant  of  self- 
control. 

The  delusion  had  fixed  itself  in  his  disordered  mind  that 
Bartja  was  not  dead,  but  transformed  into  the  bow  of  the  king  of 
Ethiopia,  and  that  the  feruer*  of  his  father,  Cyrus,  had  com- 
manded him  to  restore  Bartja  to  his  original  form  by  subju- 
gating the  black  nation. 

This  idea,  which  he  confided  to  everyone  about  him  as  a  great 
secret,  pursued  him  day  and  night  and  gave  him  no  rest  until 
he  had  started  for  Ethiopia  with  an  immense  host.  He  was 
forced,  however,  to  return  without  having  accomplished  his 
object,  after  having  miserably  lost  the  greater  part  of  his  army 
by  heat  and  the  scarcity  of  provisions.  An  historian,  who  may 
be  almost  spoken  of  as  contemporary,!  tells  us  that  the  wretched 
soldiers,  after  having  subsisted  on  herbs  as  long  as  they  could, 
came  to  deserts  where  there  was  no  sign  of  vegetation,  and  in 
their  despair  resorted  to  an  expedient  almost  too  fearful  to  de- 
scribe. Lots  were  drawn  by  every  ten  men,  and  he  on  whom 
the  lot  fell  was  killed  and  eaten  by  the  other  nine. 

At  last  things  went  so  far  that  his  subjects  compelled  this 
madman  to  return,  but  only,  with  their  slavish  Asiatic  feelings,  to 
obey  him  all  the  more  blindly  when  they  found  themselves  once 
more  in  inhabited  regions. 

On  reaching  Memphis  with  the  wreck  of  his  army  he  found 
the  Egyptians  in  glorious  apparel  celebrating  a  festival.  They 
had  found  a  new  Apis:j:  and  were  rejoicing  over  the  reappear- 
ance of  their  god,  incarnate  in  the  sacred  bull. 

As  Cambyses  had  heard  at  Thebes  that  the  army  he  had  sent 

*The  spiritual  part  of  man — his  soul  and  reason.    See  note  p.  205. 
fHerodotus  visited  Egypt  some  sixty  years  after  the  death  of  Cam-; 
byses,  454  B.  C.     He  describes  the  Ethiopian  campaign,  iii,  25. 
fSee  note  p.  459. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  487 

against  the  oasis  of  Ammonium*  in  the  Libyan  desert  had  per- 
ished miserably  in  a  kamsin,  or  simoon,f  and  that  his  fleet, 
which  was  to  conquer  Carthage,  had  refused  to  fight  with  a 
people  of  their  own  race,$  he  fancied  that  the  Memphians  must 
be  celebrating  a  festival  of  joy  at  the  news  of  his  misfortunes, 
sent  for  their  principal  men,  and  after  reproaching  them  with 
their  conduct,  asked  why  they  had  been  gloomy  and  morose 
after  his  victories,  but  joyous  at  hearing  of  his  misfortunes.  The 
Memphians  answered  by  explaining  the  real  ground  for  their 
merry-making,  and  told  him  that  the  appearance  of  the  sacred 
bull  was  always  celebrated  in  Egypt  with  the  greatest  rejoicings. 
Cambyses  called  them  liars,  and,  as  such,  sentenced  them  to 
death. §  He  then  sent  for  the  priests;  received,  however,  ex- 
actly the  same  answer  from  them. 

With  the  bitterest  irony  he  asked  to  be  allowed  to  make  the 

*The  oracle  of  Jupiter  Ammon,  which  afterward  became  so  cele- 
brated through  having  pronounced  Alexander  to  be  a  son  of  the  god, 
was  in  this  oasis.  "Curtius,"  iv,  7.  Croesus  had  already  bestowed 
attention  upon  this  oracle.  "Herod.,"  i,  46.  On  its  mode  of  utter- 
ance, Jamblichus,  "De  Myst,"  3.  "Tacit.  Hist.,"  iv,  83.  On  this 
marvelous  oasis,  which  is  now  called  Siwah,  see  Minutoli,  "Reise 
zum  Temple  des  Jupiter  Ammon,"  etc.,  and  specially  Parthey's  "Zur 
Erdkunde  des  Alten  Aegyptens."  Berlin,  1859.  Also  Brugsch,  "Geo- 
graphische  Inschriften."  Popularly  described  by  G.  Rasch.  The 
oasis  is  called  Vach  or  el  Vach,  "Abulfedae  Descrip.  Aegypt,"  1746. 

|A  fearful  southwest  wind  which  blows  in  Egypt  and  the  Libyan 
desert.  The  best  information  on  this  is  to  be  found  in  Gregoire's 
"Du  Khamsine  et  de  ses  Efforts."  A  similar  wind,  known  as  the 
"samum,"  is  called  by  the  Turks  "schamyele."  Possibly  the  dreadful 
fiend  Samiel,  so  fatal  to  the  caravans,  derived  his  name  from  this 
wind. 

fHerod.,"  iii,  26,  xvii,  19. 

§So  says  "Herod.,"  iii,  27.  Plutarch,  "Is.  and  Os.,"  12.  In  several 
places  we  have  laid  stress  upon  the  Persians'  esteem  for  truth. 
Things  are  also  very  different  now.  Brugsch,  in  his  "Perser  und 
Germanen,"  assures  us  that  he  had  nowhere  met  with  such  hard- 
ened liars  as  in  Persia.  In  the  book  of  "Kawus,"  the  wise  Shah  Kjek- 
jawus,  as  early  as  the  eleventh  century  A.  D.,  advises  his  son  and 
successor  rather  to  tell  a  lie  which  sounds  like  truth  than  the  truth 
when  it  seems  improbable.  "B.  d.  Kawus,"  translated  by  Diez,  p. 
376.  Herodotus,  on  the  other  hand,  writing  (i,  138)  of  the  same 
nation  in  the  fifth  century  B.  C.,  says:  "They  hold  lying  and  debt  to 
be  the  greatest  disgrace,"  and  in  the  "Vendidad"  lying  is  constantly 
spoken  of  as  one  of  the  most  grievous  sins.  Brugsch  may  be  right  in 
saying  that  such  a  deceitful  people  needed  repeated  commands  on 
the  subject  of  truth. 


488  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

acquaintance  of  this  new  god,  and  commanded  them  to  bring 
him.  The  bull  Apis  was  brought  and  the  king  told  that  he  was 
the  progeny  of  a  virgin  cow  and  a  moonbeam,  that  he  must 
be  black,  with  a  white  triangular  spot  on  the  forehead,  the  like- 
ness of  an  eagle  on  his  back,  and  on  his  side  the  crescent  moon. 
There  must  be  two  kinds  of  hair  on  his  tail,  and  on  his  tongue 
an  excrescence  in  the  form  of  the  sacred  beetle  Scarabaeus.:!: 

When  Cambyses  saw  this  deified  creature  he  could  discover 
nothing  remarkable  in  him,  and  was  so  enraged  that  he  plunged 
his  sword  into  his  sicle.f  As  the  blood  streamed  from  the  wound 
and  the  animal  fell,  he  broke  out  into  a  piercing  laugh,  and  cried: 
"Ye  fools!  so  your  gods  are  flesh  and  blood;  they  can  be 
wounded.  Such  folly  is  worthy  of  you.  But  ye  shall  find  that  it 
is  not  so  easy  to  make  a  fool  of  me.  Ho,  guards!  flog  these 
priests  soundly  and  kill  everyone  whom  you  find  taking  part  in 
this  mad  celebration."  The  command  was  obeyed  and  fearfully 
exasperated  the  Egyptians. 

Apis  died  of  his  wound;  the  Memphians  buried  him  secretly 


*0n  the  characteristic  signs  of  Apis,  see  "Herod.,"  iii,  28.  Whether 
the  white  spot  on  his  forehead  was  to  be  a  triangle  or  a  square  de- 
pends on  the  different  readings  of  Herodotus;  the  testimony  of  the 
monuments  is  for  the  triangle.  According  to  Ammian  Marcellinus 
he  was  to  have  a  half-moon  on  the  right  side.  "Strabo"  (807)  speaks 
of  him  as  black  with  a  white  forehead  and  white  on  some  other  por- 
tions of  his  body.  Ovid  calls  him  variis  coloribus  apis.  The  monu- 
ments explain  these  differences  by  proving  that  sacred  bulls  were 
not  always  alike.  Sometimes  Apis  is  represented  as  entirely  black, 
at  others  with  characteristic  white  spots.  Champollion,  "Pantheon 
Eg.,"  pi.  37.  On  the  Apis  statue  discovered  by  Mariette  and  now  in 
Paris,  many  of  these  marks  have  been  traced.  They  are  painted 
on  the  body  of  the  animal  in  black.  The  coloring  of  the  head,  un- 
fortunately, has  been  rubbed  off.  There  exists  a  bronze  figure  of 
the  god  with  the  sun-disk  and  uraeus  between  his  horns,  a  broad 
collar  round  his  neck,  and  on  his  back  two  vultures,  whose  extended 
wings  reach  to  the  fore  and  hind  legs;  between  these  birds  a  small 
but  costly  covering  is  spread  over  his  back.  On  the  forehead  is  a 
spot  in  the  form  of  a" triangle  which  had  a  symbolic  meaning. 

tAccording  to  "Herod.,"  iii,  29,  Cambyses'  sword  slipped  and  ran 
into  the  leg  of  the  sacred  bull.  As  the  king  died  also  of  a  wound  in 
the  thigh,  this  just  suits  Herodotus,  who  always  tries  to  put  the 
retribution  that  comes  after  presumptuous  crime  in  the  strongest 
light;  but  it  is  very  unlikely  that  the  bull  should  have  died  of  a 
mere  thigh-wound. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  489 

in  the  vaults  belonging  to  the  sacred  bulls,*  near  the  Serapeum, 
and,  led  by  Psamtik,  attempted  an  insurrection  against  the  Per- 
sians. This  was  very  quickly  put  down,  however,  and  cost 
Psamtik  his  lifef — a  life  the  stains  and  severities  of  which  de- 
serve to  be  forgiven  in  consideration  of  his  unwearied,  ceaseless 
efforts  to  deliver  his  people  from  a  foreign  yoke  and  his  death 
in  the  cause  of  freedom. 

Cambyses'  madness  had  meanwhile  taken  fresh  forms.  After 
the  failure  of  his  attempt  to  restore  Bartja  (transformed  as  he 
fancied  into  a  bow)  to  his  original  shape,  his  irritability  increased 
so  frightfully  that  a  single  word,  even  a  look,  was  sufficient  to 
make  him  furious. 

Still  his  true  friend  and  counselor,  Croesus,  never  left  him, 
though  the  king  had  more  than  once  given  him  over  to  the 
guards  for  execution.  But  the  guards  knew  their  master;  they 
took  good  care  not  to  lay  hands  on  the  old  man,  and  felt  sure 
of  immunity,  as  the  king  would  either  have  forgotten  his 
command,  or  repented  of  it  by  the  next  day.  Once,  however, 
the  miserable  whip-bearers  paid  a  fearful  penalty  for  their  lenity. 
Cambyses,  while  rejoicing  that  Croesus  was  saved,  ordered  his 
deliverers  to  be  executed  for  disobedience  without  mercy.J 

It  would  be  repugnant  to  us  to  repeat  all  the  tales  of  barbar- 
ous cruelties  which  are  told  of  Cambyses  at  this  insane  period 
of  his  life ;  but  we  cannot  resist  mentioning  a  few  which  seem  to 
us  especially  characteristic. 

While  sitting  at  the  table  one  day,  already  somewhat  intoxi- 
cated, he  asked  Prexaspes  what  the  Persians  thought  of  him. 
The  envoy,  who  in  hopes  of  deadening  his  tormenting  con- 
science by  the  performance  of  noble  and  dangerous  acts,  let  no 
opportunity  pass  of  trying  to  exercise  a  good  influence  over  his 
sovereign,  answered  that  they  extolled  him  on  every  point,  but 
thought  he  was  too  much  addicted  to  wine. 

These  words,  though  spoken  half  in  jest,  put  the  king  into  a 
violent  passion,  and  he  almost  shrieked :  "So  the  Persians  say 
that  the  wine  has  taken  away  my  senses,  do  they?  on  the  con- 
trary I'll  show  them  that  they  have  lost  their  own."  And  as  he 
spoke  he  bent  his  bow,  took  aim  for  a  moment  at  Prexaspes' 

*See  note  p.  145. 
f'Herod.,"  iii,  15. 
f'Herod.,"  ii,  493, 


490  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

eldest  son,  who,  as  cup-bearer,  was  standing  at  the  back  of  the 
hall  waiting  for  and  watching  every  look  of  his  sovereign,  and 
shot  him  in  the  breast.  He  then  gave  orders  that  the  boy's  body 
should  be  opened  and  examined.  The  arrow  had  pierced  the 
.center  of  his  heart.  This  delighted  the  senseless  tyrant  and  he 
called  out  with  a  laugh :  "Now  you  see,  Prexaspes,  it's  the  Per- 
sians who  have  lost  their  judgment,  not  I.  Could  anyone  have 
hit  the  mark  better?" 

Prexaspes  stood  there,  pale  and  motionless,  compelled  to 
watch  the  horrid  scene,  like  Niobe  when  chained  to  Sipylus. 
His  servile  spirit  bowed  before  the  ruler's  power,  instead  of 
arming  his  right  hand  with  the  dagger  of  revenge,  and  when 
the  frantic  king  asked  him  the  same  question  a  second  time,  he 
actually  answered,  pressing  his  hand  on  his  heart:  "A  god  could 
not  have  hit  the  mark  more  exactly."* 

A  few  weeks  after  this  the  king  went  to  Sais,  and  there  was 
shown  the  rooms  formerly  occupied  by  his  bride.  This  brought 
back  all  the  old  painful  recollections  in  full  force  and  at  the 
same  time  his  clouded  memory  reminded  him,  though  without 
any  clearness  of  detail,  that  Amasis  had  deceived  both  Nitetis 
and  himself.  He  cursed  the  dead  king  and  furiously  demanded 
to  be  taken  to  the  temple  of  Xeith  where  his  mummy  was  laid. 
There  he  tore  the  embalmed  body  out  of  its  sarcophagus,  caused 
it  to  be  scourged,  to  be  stabbed  with  pins,  had  the  hair  torn  off 
and  maltreated  it  in  every  possible  wray.  In  conclusion,  and  con- 
trary to  the  ancient  Persian  religious  law,  which  held  the  pollu- 
tion of  pure  fire  by  corpses  to  be  a  deadly  sin,  he  caused  Amasis' 
dead  body  to  be  burned  and  condemned  the  mummy  of  his  first 
wife,  which  lay  in  a  sarcophagus  at  Thebes,  her  native  place,  to 
the  same  fate.f 

On  his  return  to  Memphis  Cambyses  did  not  shrink  from  per- 
sonally ill-treating  his  wife  and  sister,  Atossa. 

He  had  ordered  a  combat  of  wild  beasts  to  take  place,  during 


*"Herod.,"  iii,  35,  certainly  means  by  rbi>  6ebv  Apollo  who  hits 
his  mark  from  afar.  Seneca  ("De  Ira,"  iii,  14)  in  telling  the  story 
says  plainly  "Apollo." 

f'Herod.,"  iii,  16.  The  officers  of  the  French  frigate  Luxor,  which 
was  sent  to  fetch  the  obelisk  of  Thebes,  found  a  sarcophagus  at  El 
Qurnah  containing  a  half-burned  mummy,  probably  that  of  the  wife 
of  Amasis, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  491 

which,  among  other  entertainments  of  the  same  kind,  a  dog  was 
to  fight  with  a  young  lion.  The  lion  had  conquered  his  antago- 
nist, when  another  dog,  the  brother  of  the  conquered  one,  broke 
away  from  his  chain,  attacked  the  lion,  and,  with  the  help  of  the 
wounded  dog,  vanquished  him. 

This  scene  delighted  Cambyses,  but  Kassandane  and  Atossa, 
who  had  been  forced  by  the  king's  command  to  be  present,  be- 
gan to  weep  aloud. 

The  tyrant  was  astonished,  and,  on  asking  the  reason  for  their 
tears,  received  as  answer  from  the  impetuous  Atossa  that  the 
brave  creature  who  had  risked  its  own  life  to  save  its  brother 
reminded  her  of  Bartja.  She  would  not  say  by  whom  he  had 
been  murdered,  but  his  murder  had  never  been  avenged. 

These  words  so  roused  the  king's  anger  and  so  goaded  his 
conscience  that  in  a  fit  of  insane  fury  he  struck  the  daring 
woman,  and  might  possibly  have  killed  her  if  his  mother  had  not 
thrown  herself  into  his  arms  and  exposed  her  own  body  to  his 
mad  blows.* 

Her  voice  and  action  checked  his  rage,  for  he  had  not  lost 
reverence  for  his  mother,  but  her  look  of  intense  anger  and  con- 
tempt, which  he  clearly  saw  and  could  not  forget,  begot  a  fresh 
delusion  in  his  mind.  He  believed  from  that  moment  that  the 
eyes  of  women  had  power  to  poison  him ;  started  and  hid  himself 
behind  his  companions  whenever  he  saw  a  wroman,  and  at  last 
commanded  that  all  the  female  inhabitants  of  the  palace  at 
Memphis,  his  mother  not  excepted,  should  be  sent  back  to  Ec- 
batana.  Araspes  and  Gyges  were  appointed  to  be  their  escort 
thither. 

The  caravan  of  queens  and  princesses  had  arrived  at  Sais; 
they  alighted  at  the  royal  polace.  Croesus  had  accompanied 
them  thus  far  on  their  way  from  Egypt. 

Kassandane  had  altered  very  much  during  the  last  few  years. 
Grief  and  suffering  had  worn  deep  lines  in  her  once  beautiful 
face,  though  they  had  no  power  to  bow  her  stately  figure. 

Atossa,  on  the  contrary,  was  more  beautiful  than  ever,  not- 
withstanding all  she  had  suffered.  The  refractory  and  impet- 
uous child,  the  daring  spirited  girl,  had  developed  into  a  digni- 
fied, animated  and  determined  woman.  The  serious  side  of  life 
and  three  sad  years  passed  with  her  ungovernable  husband  and 

*"Herod.,"  iii,  32. 


492  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

brother,  had  been  first-rate  masters  in  the  school  of  patience, 
but  they  had  not  been  able  to  alienate  her  heart  from  her  first 
love.  Sappho's  friendship  had  made  up  to  her  in  some  measure 
for  the  loss  of  Darius. 

The  young  Greek  had  become  another  creature  since  the 
mysterious  departure  of  her  husband.  Her  rosy  color  and  her 
lovely  smile  were  both  gone.  But  she  was  wonderfully  beauti- 
ful in  spite  of  her  paleness,  her  downcast  eyelashes  and  languid 
attitude.  She  looked  like  Ariadne  waiting  for  Theseus.  Long- 
ing and  expectation  lay  in  every  look,  in  the  low  tone  of  her 
voice,  in  her  measured  walk.  At  the  sound  of  approaching  steps, 
the  opening  of  a  door  or  the  unexpected  tones  of  a  man's  voice, 
she  would  start,  get  up  and  listen,  and  then  sink  back  into  the 
old,  waiting,  longing  attitude,  disappointed,  but  not  hopeless. 
She  began  to  dream  again,  as  she  had  been  so  fond  of  doing  in 
her  girlish  days. 

She  was  her  old  self  only  when  playing  with  her  child.  Then 
the  color  came  back  to  her  cheeks,  her  eyes  sparkled,  she  seemed 
once  more  to  live  in  the  present,  and  not  only  in  the  past  or 
future. 

Her  child  was  everything  to  her.  In  that  little  one  Bartja 
seemed  to  be  still  alive,  and  she  could  love  the  child  with  all  her 
heart  and  strength  without  taking  one  iota  from  her  love  to  him. 
With  this  little  creature  the  gods  had  mercifully  given  her  an 
aim  in  life  and  a  link  with  the  lower  world,  the  really  precious 
part  of  which  had  seemed  to  vanish  with  her  vanished  husband. 
Sometimes  as  she  looked  into  her  baby's  blue  eyes,  so  wonder- 
fully like  Bartja's,  she  thought:  "Why  was  not  she  born  a  boy? 
He  would  have  grown  more  like  his  father  from  clay  to  day, 
and  at  last,  if  such  a  thing  indeed  could  ever  be,  a  second  Bartja 
would  have  stood  before  me." 

But  such  thoughts  generally  ended  soon  in  her  pressing  the 
little  one  closer  than  ever  to  her  heart,  and  blaming  herself  for 
ingratitude  and  folly. 

One  day  Atossa  put  the  same  idea  into  words,  exclaiming : 
"If  Parmys  were  only  a  boy!  He  would  have  grown  up  exactly 
like  his  father  and  have  been  a  second  Cyrus  for  Persia."  Sappho 
smiled  sadly  at  her  friend  and  covered  the  little  one  with  kisses, 
but  Kassandane  said:  "Be  thankful  to  the  gods,  my  child,  for 
having  given  you  a  daughter.  If  Parmys  were  a  boy  he  would 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  493 

be  taken  from  you  as  soon  as  he  reached  his  sixth  year  to  be 
brought  up  with  the  sons  of  the  other  Achaemenidae,  but  your 
daughter  \vill  remain  your  own  for  many  years." 

Sappho  trembled  at  the^nere  thought  of  parting  from  her 
child;  she  pressed  its  little  fair,  curly  head  close  to  her  breast, 
and  never  found  fault  with  her  treasure  again  for  being  a  girl. 
Atossa's  friendship  was  a  great  comfort  to  her  poor  wounded 
heart.  With  her  she  could  speak  of  Bartja  as  much  and  as  often 
as  she  would,  and  was  always  certain  of  a  kind  and  sympathizing 
listener.  Atossa  had  loved  her  vanished  brother  very  dearly. 
And  even  a  stranger  would  have  enjoyed  hearing  Sappho  tell 
of  her  past  happiness.  Her  words  rose  into  real  eloquence  in 
speaking  of  those  bright  days;  she  seemed  like  an  inspired  poet- 
ess. Then  she  would  take  her  lyre  and  with  her  clear,  sweet 
plaintive  voice  sing  the  love-songs  of  the  elder  Sappho,  in  which 
all  her  own  deepest  feelings  were  so  truly  expressed,  and  fancy 
herself  once  more  with  her  lover,  sitting  under  the  sweet-scented 
acanthus  in  the  quiet  night,  and  forget  the  sad  reality  of  her 
present  life.  And  when  with  a  deep  sigh  she  laid  aside  the  lyre 
and  came  back  out  of  this  dream-kingdom,  the  tears  were  always 
to  be  seen  in  Kassandane's  eyes,  though  she  did  not  understand 
the  language  in  which  Sappho  had  been  singing,  and  Atossa 
would  bend  down  and  kiss  her  forehead. 

Thus  three  long  years  had  passed,  during  which  Sappho  had' 
seldom  seen  her  grandmother,  for,  as  the  mother  of  Parmys, 
she  was  by  the  king's  command  forbidden  to  leave  the  harem 
unless  permitted  and  accompanied  either  by  Kassandane  or  the 
eunuchs. 

On  the  present  occasion  Croesus,  who  had  always  loved  and 
loved  her  still,  like  a  daughter,  had  sent  for  Rhodopis  to  Sais. 
He,  as  well  as  Kassandane,  understood  her  wish  to  take  leave  of 
this,  her  dearest  and  most  faithful  friend,  before  setting  out  for 
Persia;  besides  which  Kassandane  had  a  great  wish  to  see  one  in 
\vhose  praise  she  had  heard  so  much.  When  Sappho's  tender 
und  sad  farewell  was  over,  therefore,  Rhodopis  was  summoned 
to  the  queen  mother. 

A  stranger  who  saw  these  two  women  together  would  have 
thought  both  were  queens;  it  was  impossible  to  decide  which 
of  the  two  had  the  most  right  to  the  title. 

Croesus,  standing  as  he  did  in  as  close  a  relation  to  the  one 


194  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

as  to  the  other,  undertook  the  office  of  interpreter  and  the  ready 
intellect  of  Rhodopis  helped  him  to  carry  on  an  uninterrupted 
flow  of  conversation. 

Rhodopis,  by  her  own  peculiar  attractions,  soon  won  the 
heart  of  Kassandane,  and  the  queen  knew  no  better  way  of  prov- 
ing this  than  by  offering,  in  Persian  fashion,  to  grant  her  some 
wish. 

Rhodopis  hesitated  a  moment;  then  raising  her  hands  as  if 
in  prayer,  she  cried,  "Leave  me,  my  Sappho,  the  consolation  and 
beauty  of  my  old  age." 

Kassandane  smiled  sadly.  "It  is  not  in  my  power  to  grant 
that  wish,"  she  answered.  "The  laws  of  Persia  command  that 
the  children  of  the  Achaemenidae  shall  be  brought  up  at  the 
king's  gate.  I  dare  not  allow  the  little  Parmys,  Cyrus'  only 
grandchild,  to  leave  me,  and,  much  as  Sappho  loves  you,  you 
know  she  would  not  part  from  her  child.  Indeed,  she  has  be- 
come so  dear  to  me  now  and  to  my  daughter  that  though  I  well 
understand  your  wish  to  have  her  I  could  never  allow  Sappho 
to  leave  us." 

Seeing  that  Rhodopis'  eyes  were  filling  with  tears,  Kassan- 
dane went  on :  "There  is,  however,  a  good  way  out  of  our  per- 
plexity. Leave  Naukratis  and  come  with  us  to  Persia.  There 
you  can  spend  your  last  years  with  us  and  with  your  grand- 
daughter and  shall  be  provided  with  a  royal  maintenance." 

Rhodopis  shook  her  head,  hoary  but  still  so  beautiful,  and 
answered  in  a  suppressed  voice:  "I  thank  you,  noble  queen,  for 
this  gracious  invitation,  but  I  feel  unable  to  accept  it.  Every 
fiber  of  my  heart  is  rooted  in  Greece,  and  I  should  be  tearing  my 
life  out  by  leaving  it  forever.  I  am  so  accustomed  to  constant 
activity,  perfect  freedom  and  a  stirring  exchange  of  thought 
that  I  should  languish  and  die  in  the  confinement  of  a  harem. 
Croesus  had  already  prepared  me  for  the  gracious  proposal  you 
have  just  made,  and  I  have  had  a  long  and  difficult  battle  to  fight 
before  I  could  decide  on  resigning  my  dearest  blessing  for  my 
highest  good.  It  is  not  easy,  but  it  is  glorious — it  is  more  wor- 
thy of  the  Greek'name — to  live  a  beautiful  and  good  life  than  a 
happy  one — to  follow  duty  rather  than  pleasure.  My  heart  will 
follow  Sappho,  but  my  intellect  and  experience  belong  to  the 
Greeks;  and  if  you  should  ever  hear  that  the  people  of  Hellas 
are  ruled  by  themselves  alone,  by  their  own  gods,  their  own 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.          •  495 

laws,  the  good  and  the  beautiful,  then  you  will  know  that  the 
work  on  which  Rhodopis,  in  league  with  the  noblest  and  best  of 
her  countrymen,  has  staked  her  life,  is  accomplished.  Be  not 
angry  with  the  Greek  woman  who  confesses  that  she  would 
rather  die  free  as  a  beggar  than  live  in  bondage  as  a  queen, 
though  envied  by  the  whole  world." 

Kassandane  listened  in  amazement.  She  only  understood 
part  of  what  Rhodopis  had  said,  but  felt  that  she  had  spoken  well 
and  nobly,  and  at  the  conclusion  gave  her  her  hand  to  kiss. 
After  a  short  pause  Kassandane  said:  "Do  what  you  think  right, 
and  remember  that  as  long  as  I  and  my  daughter  live  your 
granddaughter  will  never  want  for  true  and  faithful  love." 

"Your  noble  countenance  and  the  fame  of  your  great  virtue 
are  warrant  enough  for  that,"  answered  Rhodopis. 

"And  also,"  added  the  queen,  "the  duty  which  lies  upon  me 
to  make  good  the  wrong  that  has  been  done  your  Sappho." 

She  sighed  painfully  and  went  on:  "The  little  Parmys  shall 
be  carefully  educated.  She  seems  to  have  much  natural  talent 
and  can  sing  the  songs  of  her  native  country  already  after  her 
mother.  I  shall  do  nothing  to  check  her  love  of  music,  though 
in  Persia  the  religious  services  are  the  only  occasions  in  which 
that  art  is  studied  by  any  but  the  lower  classes."* 

At  these  words  Rhodopis'  face  glowed.  "Will  you  permit 
me  to  speak  openly,  O  queen?"  she  said. 

"Speak  without  fear,"  was  Kassandane's  answer. 

"When  you  sighed  so  painfully  just  now  in  speaking  of  your 
dear  lost  son  I  thought  perhaps  that  brave  young  hero  might 
have  been  still  living  if  the  Persians  had  understood  better  how 
to  educate  their  sons.  Bartja  told  me  in  what  that  education 
consisted.  To  shoot,  throw  the  spear,  ride,  hunt,  speak  the 
truth,  and,  perhaps,  also  to  distinguish  between  the  healing 
and  noxious  properties  of  certain  plants;  that  is  deemed  a  suffi- 
cient educational  provision  for  a  man's  life.  The  Greek  boys 
are  just  as  carefully  kept  to  the  practice  of  exercises  for  harden- 
ing and  bracing  the  body;  for  these  exercises  are  the  founders 
and  preservers  of  health,  the  physician  is  only  its  repairer  and 
restorer.  If,  however,  by  constant  practice  a  Greek  youth  were 
to  attain  to  the  strength  of  a  bull,  the  truth  of  the  Deity  and  the 

*"Book  of  Kawus,"  p.  732.  Brusgch,  "Reise  Nach  Persian,"  p. 
389.  On  the  musical  instruments  used  in  Persia,  see  "Chardin,"  v. 
PP.  69-71. 


496  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

wisdom  of  the  most  learned  Egyptian  priest,  we  should  still 
look  down  upon  him  were  he  wanting  in  two  things  which  only 
early  example  and  music,  combined  with  these  bodily  exercises, 
can  give — grace  and  symmetry.  You  smile  because  you  do 
not  understand  me,  but  I  can  prove  to  you  that  music,  which, 
from  what  Sappho  tells  me,  is  not  without  its  moving  power  for 
your  heart,  is  as  important  an  element  in  education  as  gym- 
nastics, and,  strange  as  it  may  sound,  has  an  equal  share  in 
effecting  the  perfection  of  both  body  and  mind.  The  man  who 
devotes  his  attention  exclusively  to  music  wrill,  if  he  be  of  a 
violent  disposition,  lose  his  savage  sternness  at  first,  he  will 
become  gentle  and  pliable  as  metal  in  the  fire.  But  at  last  his 
courage  will  disappear,  too;  his  passionate  temper  will  have 
changed  into  irritability,  and  he  will  be  of  little  worth  as  a 
warrior,  the  calling  and  character  most  desired  in  your  country. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  he  confines  himself  to  gymnastics  only, 
he  will,  like  Cambyses,  excel  in  manliness  and  strength;  but 
his  mind — here  my  comparison  ceases — will  remain  obtuse  and 
blind,  his  perceptions  will  be  confused.  He  will  not  listen  to 
reason,  but  will  endeavor  to  carry  everything  by  force,  and, 
lacking  grace  and  proportion,  his  life  will  probably  become  a 
succession  of  rude  and  violent  deeds.*  On  this  account  we 
conclude  that  music  is  necessary  not  only  for  the  mind,  and 
gymnastics  not  only  for  the  body,  but  that  both,  working  to- 
gether, elevate  and  soften  the  mind  and  strengthen  the  body- 
give  manly  grace  and  graceful  manliness." 

After  a  moment's  pause  Rhodopis  went  on:  "The  youth 
who  has  not  received  such  an  education,  whose  roughness 
has  never  been  checked  even  in  childhood;  who  has  been 
allowed  to  vent  his  temper  on  every  one,  receiving  flattery  in 
return  and  never  hearing  reproof;  who  has  been  allowed  to 
command  before  he  has  learned  to  obey,  and  who  has  been 
brought  up  in  the  belief  that  splendor,  power  and  riches  are 
the  highest  good,  can  never  possibly  attain  to  the  perfect  man- 
hood which  we  beseech  the  gods  to  grant  our  boys.  And  if 
this  unfortunate  being  happens  to  have  been  born  with  an 
impetuous  disposition,  ungovernable  and  eager  passions,  these 
will  be  only  nourished  and  increased  by  bodily  exercise  unac- 
companied by  the  softening  influence  of  music,  so  that  at  last 

*The  fundamental  ideas  of  this  speech  are  drawn  from  Plato's  ideal 
"State." 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  497 

a  child,  who  possibly  came  into  the  world  with  good  qualities 
will,  merely  through  the  defects  in  his  education,  degenerate 
into  a  destructive  animal,  a  sensual  self-destroyer  and  a  mad 
and  furious  tyrant." 

Rhodopis  had  become  animated  with  her  subject  She 
ceased,  saw  tears  in  the  eyes  of  the  queen,  and  felt  that  she  had 
gone  too  far  and  had  wounded  a  mother's  heart— ,a  heart  full 
of  noble  feeling.  She  touched  her  robe,  kissed  its  border,  and 
said  softly,  Forgive  me." 

Kassandane  looked  her  forgiveness,  courteously  saluted 
Rhodopis  and  prepared  to  leave  the  room.  On  the  threshold 
however,  she  stopped  and  said:  "I  am  not  angry.  Your  re- 
proaches are  just;  but  you,  too,  must  endeavor  to  forgive,  for 
I  can  assure  you  that  he  who  has  murdered  the  happiness  of 
your  child  and  of  mine,  though  the  most  powerful,  is  of  all 
mortals  the  most  to  be  pitied.  Farewell!  Should  you  ever 
stand  in  need  of  aught,  remember  Cyrus'  widow,  and' how  she 
wished  to  teach  you  that  the  virtues  the  Persians  desire  most 
in  their  children  are  magnanimity  and  liberality." 

After  saying  this  she  left  the  apartment. 

On  the  same  day  Rhodopis  heard  that  Phanes  was  dead.  He 
had  retired  to  Crotona  in  the  neighborhood  of  Pythagoras  and 
there  passed  his  time  in  reflection,  dying  with  the  tranquillity 
of  a  philosopher. 

She  was  deeply  affected  at  this  news  and  said  to  Croesus: 
"Greece  has  lost  one  of  her  ablest  men,  but  there  are  many 
who  will  grow  up  to  be  his  equals.  The  increasing  power  of 
Persia  causes  me  no  fear;  indeed,  I  believe  that  when  the  bar- 
barous lust  of  conquest  stretches  out  its  hand  toward  us,  our 
many  headed  Greece  will  rise  as  a  giant  with  one  head  of  divine 
power,  before  which  mere  barbaric  strength  must  bow  as  surely 
as  body  before  spirit." 


Three  days  after  this,  Sappho  said  farewell  for  the  last  time 
to  her  grandmother  and  followed  the  queens  to  Persia.  Not- 
withstanding the  events  which  afterward  took  place,  she  con- 
tinued to  believe  that  Bartja  would  return,  and,  full  of  love, 
fidelity  and  tender  remembrance,  devoted  herself  entirely  to 


498  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

the  education  of  her  child  and  the  care  of  her  aged  mother-in- 
law,  Kassandane. 

Little  Parmys  became  very  beautiful,  and  learned  to  love  the 
memory  of  her  vanished  father  next  to  the  gods  of  her  native 
land,  for  her  mother's  tales  had  brought  him  as  vividly  before 
her  as  if  he  had  been  still  alive  and  present  with  them. 

Atossa's  subsequent  good  fortune  and  happiness  did  not  cool 
her  friendship.  She  always  called  Sappho  her  sister.  The 
hanging-gardens  were  the  latter's  residence  in  summer,  and 
in  her  conversations  there  with  Kassandane  and  Atossa  one 
name  was  often  mentioned — the  name  of  her  who  had  been  the 
innocent  cause  of  events  which  had  decided  the  destinies  of 
great  kingdoms  and  noble  lives — the  Egyptian  princess. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


Here  we  might  end  this  tale  but  that  we  feel  bound  to  give 
our  readers  some  account  of  the  last  days  of  Cambyses.  We 
have  already  described  the  ruin  of  his  mind,  but  his  physical 
end  remains  still  to  be  told  also,  the  subsequent  fate  of  some 
of  the  other  characters  in  our  history. 

A  short  time  after  the  departure  of  the  queens  news  reached 
Naukratis  that  Oroetes,  the  satrap  of  Lydia,  had  by  a  strata- 
gem allured  his  old  enemy,  Polykrates,  to  Sardis  and  crucified 
him  there,*  thus  fulfilling  .what  Amasis  had  prophesied  of  the 
tyrant's  mournful  end.  This  act  the  satrap  had  committed  on 
his  own  responsibility,  events  having  taken  place  in  the  Median 
kingdom  which  threatened  the  fall  of  the  Achaemenidaean 
dynasty.f 

The  king's  long  absence  in  a  foreign  country  had  either 

*See  note  p.  375. 

tHerodotus  has  been  our  main  guide  in  this  part  of  our  tale,  also 
("Herod.,"  iii,  61-88),  and  the  inscription  of  Bisitun  or  Behistan. 
Ktesias  lived  at  the  Persian  court,  it  is  true,  but  his  information, 
though  in  this  place  it  somewhat  tallies  with  that  of  Herodotus,  is 
far  more  probable. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  499 

weakened  or  entirely  dissipated  the  fear  which  the  mere  men- 
tion of  his  name  had  formerly  inspired  in  those  who  felt  inclined 
to  rebel.  The  awe  that  his  subjects  had  formerly  felt  for  him 
vanished  at  the  tidings  of  his  madness,  and  the  news  that  he 
had  wantonly  exposed  the  lives  of  thousands  of  their  country- 
men to  certain  death  in  the  deserts  of  Libya  and  Ethiopia 
inspired  the  enraged  Asiatics  with  a  hatred  which,  when  skill- 
fully fed  by  the  powerful  Magi,  soon  roused,  first  the  Medes 
and  Assyrians,  and  then  the  Persians,  to  defection  and  open 
insurrection.  Motives  of  self-interest  led  the  ambitious  high- 
priest,  Oropastes,  whom  Cambyses  had  appointed  regent  in 
his  absence,  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  this  movement.  He 
flattered  the  people  by  remittihg  their  taxes,  by  large  gifts 
and  larger  promises,  and,  finding  his  clemency  gratefully 
recognized,  determined  on  an  imposture  by  which  he  hoped  to 
win  the  crown  of  Persia  for  his  own  family. 

He  had  not  forgotten  the  marvelous  likeness  between  his 
brother  Gaumata  (who  had  been  condemned  to  lose  his  ears), 
and  Bartja,  the  son  of  Cyrus,  and  on  hearing  that  the  latter, 
the  ui  iversal  favorite,  as  he  well  knew,  of  the  Persian  nation, 
had  s_  sappeared,  resolved  to  turn  this  to  account  by  passing 
off  his  brother  as  the  vanished  prince,  and  setting  him  on  the 
throne  in  place  of  Cambyses.  The  hatred  felt  throughout  the 
entire  kingdom  toward  their  insane  king  and  the  love  and 
attachment  of  the  nation  to  Bartja  made  this  stratagem  so  easy 
of  accomplishment,  that  when  at  last  messengers  from  Oro- 
pastes arrived  in  all  the  provinces  of  the  empire  declaring  to 
the  discontented  citizens  that,  notwithstanding  the  rumor  they 
had  heard,  the  younger  son  of  Cyrus  was  still  alive,  had  re- 
volted from  his  brother,  ascended  his  father's  throne  and 
granted  to  all  his  subjects  freedom  from  tribute  and  from  mili- 
tary service  during  a  period  of  three  years,  the  new  ruler  was 
acknowledged  throughout  the  kingdom  with  rejoicings. 

The  pretended  Bartja,  who  was  fully  aware  of  his  brother's 
mental  superiority,  had  obeyed  his  directions  in  every  particu- 
lar, had  taken  up  his  residence  in  the  palace  of  Nisaea*  in  the 
plains  of  Media,  placed  the  crown  on  his  head,  declared  the 

*Spiegel,  "Inscription  of  Behistan;"  "There  is  a  fortress,  Cika- 
thauvatis  by  name,  a  district,  Nigaya  by  name,  in  Media,  there  he 
killed  him,"  What  town  is  meant  here  cannot  be  determined,  but 
the  district  of  Niaaja  was  celebrated  principally  for  its  good  pasture 


500  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

royal  harem  his  own,  and  had  shown  himself  once  from  a 
distance  to  the  people,  who  were  to  recognize  in  him  the 
murdered  Bartja.  After  that  time,  however,  for  fear  of  being 
at  last  unmasked,  he  concealed  himself  in  his  palace,  giving 
himself  up,  after  the  manner  of  Asiatic  monarchs,  to  every  kind 
of  indulgence,  while  his  brother  held  the  scepter  with  a  firm 
hand,  and  conferred  all  the  important  offices  of  state  on  his 
friends  and  family. 

No  sooner  did  Oropastes  feel  firm -ground  under  his  feet 
than  he  dispatched  the  eunuch  Ixabates  to  Egypt  to  inform 
the  army  of  the  change  of  rulers  in  favor  of  Bartja,  who  he 
knew  had  been  idolized  by  the  soldiers. 

The  messenger  had  been  well  chosen,  fulfilled  his  mission 
with  much  skill,  and  had  already  won  over  a  considerable  part 
of  the  army  for  the  new  king,  when  he  was  taken  prisoner 
by  some  Syrians,  who  brought  him  to  Memphis  in  hopes  of 
reward. 

On  arriving  in  the  city  of  the  pyramids  he  was  brought  before 
the  king  and  promised  immunity  on  condition  of  revealing  the 
entire  truth. 

The  messenger  then  confirmed  the  rumor  which  had  reached 
Egypt  that  Bartja  had  ascended  the  throne  of  Cyrus  and  had 
been  recognized  by  the  greater  part  of  the  empire. 

Cambyses  started  with  terror  at  these  tidings,  as  one  who 
saw  a  dead  man  rise  from  his  grave.  He  was  by  this  time  fully 
aware  that  Bartja  had  been  murdered  by  Prexaspes  at  his  own 
command,  but  at  this  moment  he  began  to  suspect  that  the 
envoy  had  deceived  him  and  spared  his  brother's  life.  The 
thought  had  no  sooner  entered  his  mind  than  he  uttered  it, 
reproaching  Prexaspes  so  bitterly  with  treachery  as  to  elicit 
from  him  a  tremendous  oath  that  he  had  murdered  and  buried 
unfortunate  Bartja  with  his  own  hand. 

Oropastes'  messenger  was  asked  whether  he  had  seen  the 
new  king  himself.  He  answered  that  he  had  not,  adding  that 
the  supposed  brother  of  Cambyses  had  only  once  appeaVed 
in  public,  and  had  then  shown  himself  to  the  people  from  a 

for  horses.  Eustath.  in  "Dionys.  Perieg.,"  p.  178.  According  to 
"Diod.,"  xvii,  10,  and  Arrian,  "Anab.,"  vii,  13,  there  were  more  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  horses  in  this  district,  distinguished 
by  their  large  size.  According  to  Herodotus  the  whole  of  this  part  of 
our  story  took  place  in  Susa. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  501 

distance.  On  hearing  this,  Prexaspes  saw  through  the  whole 
web  of  trickery  at  once,  reminded  the  king  of  the  unhappy  mis- 
understandings to  which  the  marvelous  likeness  between  Bartja 
and  Gaumata  had  formerly  given  rise,  and  concluded  by  offer- 
ing to  stake  his  own  life  on  the  correctness  of  his  supposition. 
The  explanation  pleased  the  king,  and  from  that  moment  his 
diseased  mind  was  possessed  by  one  new  idea  to  the  exclusion 
of  all  others — the  seizure  and  slaughter  of  the  Magi. 

The  host  was  ordered  to  prepare  for  marching.  Aryandes,* 
one  of  the  Achaemenidae,  was  appointed  satrap  of  Egypt,  and 
the  army  started  homeward  without  delay.  Driven  by  this  new 
delusion,  the  king  took  no  rest  by  day  or  night,  till  at  last  his 
over-ridden  and  ill-used  horse  fell  with  him,  and  he  was  severely 
wounded  in  the  fall  by  his  own  dagger,  f 

After  lying  insensible  for  some  days,  he  opened  his  eyes  and 
asked  first  to  see  Araspes,  then  his  mother,  and  lastly  Atossa, 
although  these  three  had  set  out  on  their  journey  home  months 
before.  From  all  he  said  it  appeared  that  during  the  last  four 
years,  from  the  attack  of  fever  until  the  present  accident,  he 
had  been  living  in  a  kind  of  sleep.  He  seemed  astonished  and 
pained  at  hearing  what  had  happened  during  these  years.  But 
of  his  brother's  death  he  was  fully  aware.  He  knew  that  Prex- 
aspes had  killed  him  by  his — the  king's — orders,  and  had  told 
him  that  Bartja  lay  buried  on  the  shores  of  the  Red  Sea. 
During  the  night  which  followed  this  return  to  his  senses  it 
became  clear  to  himself  also  that  his  mind  had  been  wandering 
for  a  long  time.  Toward  morning  he  fell  into  a  deep  sleep, 
and  this  so  restored  his  strength  that  on  waking  he  called  for 

*"Herod.,"  iv,  166. 

f'Herod.,"  iii,  64.  In  Spiegel's  translation  of  the  inscription  of 
Behistan  we  read:  "Thereupon  Kambujiya  died,  having  killed  him- 
self." Oppert  gives  the  same  translation  of  "Uvamarsiyus."  Beusey 
thus:  "Thereupon  Kambuija  died  of  exceeding  anger."  Ktesias, 
"Pers.,"  12,  says  that  Cambyses  wounded  himself  with  a  knife  in  the 
thigh,  accidentally,  and  died  of  the  wound.  This,  as  well  as  the 
account  given  by  Herodotus,  agrees  with  the  inscription:  "He  ended, 
'Uvamarsiyus'  dying  from  himself,"  for  even  the  Greeks  allow  that 
Cambyses  died  by  his  own  weapon,  though  not  by  his  own  will. 
We  reject  the  idea  of  willful  suicide,  all  the  more  gladly  as  just  on 
this  point  Herodotus  and  Ktesias  agree,  and  the  dying  speech  which 
Herodotus  puts  into  the  mouth  of  Cambyses  bears  a  decidedly  Perso- 
Iranian  character.  M.  Duncker,  "Goschichte  d.  Alterth.,"  11,  p.  544. 
"Herodot,"  ill,  65. 


502  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

Croesus  and  required  an  exact  relation  of  the  events  that  had 
passed  during  the  last  few  years. 

His  old  friend  and  adviser  obeyed;  he  felt  that  Cambyses 
was  still  intrusted  to  his  care  and  in  the  hope,  faint  as  it  was, 
of  bringing  him  back  to  the  right  way,  he  did  not  suppress  one 
of  the  king's  acts  of  violence  in  his  relation. 

His  joy  was,  therefore,  great  at  perceiving  that  his  words 
made  a  deep  impression  on  the -newly  awakened  mind  of  the 
king.  With  tears  in  his  eyes  and  with  the  ashamed  look  of  a 
child,  he  grieved  over  his  wrong  deeds  and  his  madness,  begged 
Croesus  to  forgive  him,  thanked  him  for  having  borne  so  long 
and  faithfully  with  him,  and  commissioned  him  to  ask  Kassan- 
dane  and  Sappho  especially  for  forgiveness,  but  also  Atossa, 
and  all  whom  he  had  unjustly  offended. 

The  old  man  wept,  too,  but  his  tears  were  tears  of  joy,  and 
he  repeatedly  assured  Cambyses  that  he  would  recover  and 
have  ample  opportunity  of  making  amends  for  the  past.  But 
to  all  this  Cambyses  shook  his  head  resolutely,  and,  pale  and 
wan  as  he  looked,  begged  Croesus  to  have  his  couch  carried 
onto  a  rising  ground  in  the  open  air  and  then  to  summon  the 
Achaemenidae.  When  these  orders,  in  spite  of  the  physicians, 
had  been  obeyed,  Cambyses  was  raised  into  an  upright  sitting 
position,  and  began,  in  a  voice  which  could  be  heard  at  a  con- 
siderable distance: 

"The  time  to  reveal  my  great  secret  has  arrived,  oh,  ye  Per- 
sians. Deceived  by  a  vision,  provoked  and  annoyed  by  my 
brother,  I  caused  him  to  be  murdered  in  my  wrath.  Prexaspes 
wrought  the  evil  deed  by  my  command,  but,  instead  of  bringing 
me  the  peace  I  yearned  for,  that  deed  has  tortured  me  into 
madness  and  death.  By  this,  my  confession,  ye  will  be  con- 
vinced that  my  brother,  Bartja,  is  really  dead.  •  The  Magi  have 
usurped  the  throne  of  the  Achaemenidae.  Oropastes,  whom  I 
left  in  Persia  as  my  vicegerent,  and  his  brother,  Gaumata,  who 
resembles  Bartja  so  nearly  that  even  Croesus,  Intaphernes  and 
my  uncle,  the  noble  Hystaspes,  were  once  deceived  by  the  like- 
ness, have  placed  themselves  at  their  head.  Woe  is  me  that  I 
have  murdered  him,  who,  as  my  nearest  kinsman,  should  have 
avenged  on  the  Magi  this  affront  to  my  honor.  But  I  cannot 
recall  him  from  the  dead,  and  I,  therefore,  appoint  you  the 
executors  of  my  last  v.'ill.  Ry  the  feruer*  of  my  dead  father  and 
"See  note  p.  205, 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  503 

in  the  name  of  all  good  arid  pure  spirits  I  conjure  you  not  to 
suffer  the  government  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  unfaithful 
Magi.  If  they  have  obtained  possession  thereof  by  artifice, 
wrest  it  from  their  hands  in  like  manner;  if  by  force,  use  force 
to  win  it  back.  Obey  this,  my  last  will,  and  the  earth  will  yield 
you  its  fruits  abundantly;  your  wives,  your  flocks  and  herds 
shall  be  blessed,  and  freedom  shall  be  your  portion.  Refuse  to 
obey  it,  and  ye  shall  suffer  the  corresponding  evil;  yea,  your 
end  and  that  of  every  Persian  shall  be  even  as  mine." 

After  these  words  the  king  wept  and  sank  back  fainting,  on 
seeing  which  the  Achaemenidae  rent  their  clothes  and  burst 
into  loud  lamentations.  A  few  hours  later  Cambyses  died  in 
Croesus'  arms.  Nitetis  was  his  last  thought;  he  died  with  her 
name  on  his  lips  and  tears  of  penitence  in  his  eyes.*  When  the 
Persians  had  left  the  unclean  corpse  Croesus  knelt  down  beside 
it  and  cried,  raising  his  hand  to  heaven:  "Great  Cyrus,  I  have 
kept  my  oath.  I  have  remained  this  miserable  man's  faithful 
adviser  even  unto  his  end." 

The  next  morning  the  old  man  betook  himself,  accompanied 
by  his  son  Gyges,  to  the  town  of  Barene,  which  belonged  to 
him,f  and  lived  there  many  years  as  a  father  to  his  subjects, 
revered  by  Darius  and  praised  by  all  his  contemporaries. 

After  Cambyses'  death  the  heads  of  the  seven  Persian  tribes! 
held  a  council  and  resolved  as  a  first  measure  on  obtaining 
certain  information  as  to  the  person  of  the  usurper.  With  this 
view  Otanes  sent  a  confidential  eunuch  to  his  daughter,  Phae- 
dime,  who,  as  they  knew,  had  come  into  the  possession  of  the 
new  king  with  the  rest  of  Cambyses'  harem.  Before  the  mes- 
senger returned  the  greater  part  of  the  army  had  dispersed,  the 
soldiers  seizing  this  favorable  opportunity  to  return  to  their 
homes  and  families  after  so  many  years  of  absence.  At  last, 
however,  the  long-expected  messenger  came  back  and  brought 


*"Herod.,"  iii,  65,  66,  mentions  expressly  the  sentimental-sounding 
penitence  of  Cambyses. 

fKtesias,  "Pers.,"  4. 

$The  names  of  the  seven  conspiring  chiefs  given  by  Herodotus 
agree  for  the  most  part  with  those  in  the  cuneiform  inscriptions. 
Spiegel,  "Keilinschriften,"  p.  37.  In  "Herod.,"  iii,  70,  the  names  are 
Otanes,  Intaphernas,  Gobryas,  Megabyzus,  Aspatines,  Hydarnes  and 
Darius  Hystaspis.  In  the  inscription:  "Utana,  Vidafrana,  Gaubaruva, 
Ardumanis,  Vidarna,  Bagabukhsa,  and  Darayavus. 


504  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

for  answer  that  the  new  king  had  only  visited  Phaedime  once, 
but  that  during  that  visit  she  had  at'  great  personal  risk  dis- 
covered that  he  had  lost  both  ears.  Without  this  discovery, 
however,  she  could  assert  positively  that,  though  there  were  a 
thousand  points  of  similarity  between  the  usurper  and  the  mur- 
dered Bartja,  the  former  was  in  reality  none  other  than  Gau- 
mata,  the  brother  of  Oropastes.  Her  old  friend  Boges  had 
resumed  his  office  of  chief  of  the  eunuchs  and  had  revealed  to 
her  the  secrets  of  the  Magi.  The  high-priest  had  met  the  former 
keeper  of  the  women  begging  in  the  streets  of  Susa  and  had 
restored  him  to  his  old  office  with  the  words:  "You  have  for- 
feited your  life,  but  I  want  men  of  your  stamp."  In  conclusion, 
Phaedime  entreated  her  father  to  use  every  means  in  his  power 
for  the  overthrow  of  the  Magi,  as  they  treated  her  with  the 
greatest  contempt  and  she  was  the  most  miserable  of  women. 

Though  none  of  the  Achaemenidae  had  really  for  a  moment 
believed  that  Bartja  was  alive  and  had  seized  on  the  throne,  so 
clear  an  account  of  the  real  person  of  the  usurper  was  very 
welcome  to  them,  and  they  resolved  at  once  to  march  on 
Nisaea  with  the  remnant  of  the  army  and  overthrow  the  Magi, 
either  by  craft  or  force. 

They  entered  the  new  capital  unassailed,  and  finding  that 
the  majority  of  the  people  seemed  content  with  the  new  govern- 
ment they  also  pretended  to  acknowledge  the  king  as  the  son 
of  Cyrus,  to  whom  they  were  prepared  to  do  homage.  The 
Magi,  however,  were  not  deceived;  they  shut  themselves  up  in 
their  palace,  assembled  an  army  in  the  Nisaean  plain,*  prom- 
ised the  soldiers  high  pay  and  used  every  effort  to  strengthen 
the  belief  of  the  people  in  Gaumata's  disguise.  On  this  point 
no  one  could  do  them  more  injury,  or,  if  he  chose,  be  more 
useful  to  them,  than  Prexaspes.  He  was  much  looked  up  to 
by  the  Persians,  and  his  assurance  that  he  had  murdered  Bartja 
would  have  been  sufficient  to  lame  the  fast-spreading  report  of 
the  real  way  in  which  the  youth  had  met  his  death.  Oropastes, 
therefore,  sent  for  Prexaspes,  who,  since  the  king's  dying  wrords, 
had  been  avoided  by  all  the  men  of  his  own  rank  and  had  led 
the  life  of  an  outlaw,  and  promised  him  an  immense  sum  of 
money  if  he  would  ascend  a  high  tower  and  declare  to  the  peo- 
ple, assembled  in  the  court  beneath,  that  evil-disposed  men 
had  called  him  Bartja's  murderer,  whereas,  he  had  seen  the 

*See  note  pp.  499-500. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  505 

new  king  with  his  own  eyes  and  had  recognized  in  him  the 
younger  son  of  his  benefactor.  Prexaspes  made  no  objections 
to  this  proposal,  took  a  tender  leave  of  his  family,  while  the 
people  were  being  assembled,  uttered  a  short  prayer  before  the 
sacred  fire-altar,  and  walked  proudly  to  the  palace'.  On  his  way 
thither  he  met  the  chiefs  of  the  seven  tribes,  and,  seeing  that 
they  avoided  him,  called  out  to  them:  "I  am  worthy  of  your 
contempt,  but  I  will  try  to  deserve  your  forgiveness." 

Seeing  Darius  look  back  he  hastened  toward  him,  grasped 
his  hand  and  said:  "I  have  loved  you  like  a  son;  take  care  of 
my  children  when  I  am  no  more,  and  use  your  opinions,  winged 
Darius."  Then,  with  the  same  proud  demeanor,  he  ascended 
the  tower. 

Many  thousands  of  the  citizens  of  Nisaea  were  within  reach 
of  his  voice  as  he  cried  aloud:  "Ye  all  know  that  the  kings  who 
have,  .up  to  the  present  time,  loaded  you  with  honor  and  glory 
belonged  to  the  house  of  the  Achaemenidae.  Cyrus  governed 
you  like  a  real  father,  Cambyses  was  a  stern  master,  and  Bartja 
would  have  guided  you  like  a  bridegroom  if  I,  with  this  right 
hand  which  I  now  show  you,  had  not  slain  him  on  the  shores 
of  the  Red  Sea.  By  Mithras,  it  was  with  a  bleeding  heart  that 
I  committed  this  wicked  deed;  but  I  did  it  as  a  faithful  servant 
in  obedience  to  the  king's  command.  Nevertheless  it  has 
haunted  me  by  day  and  night ;  for  four  long  years  I  have  been 
pursued  and  tormented  by  the  spirits  of  darkness  who  scare 
sleep  from  the  murderer's  couch.  I  have  now  resolved  to  end 
this  painful,  despairing  existence  by  a  worthy  deed,  and  though 
even  this  may  procure  one  no  mercy  at  the  bridge  of  Chinvat,* 
in  the  mouths  of  men,  at  least,  I  shall  have  redeemed  my  honor- 
able name  from  the  stain  with  which  I  defiled  it.  Know,  then, 
that  the  man  who  gives  himself  out  for  the  son  of  Cyrus  sent 
me  hither,  he  promised  me  rich  rewards  if  I  would  deceive  you 
by  declaring  him  to  be  Bartja,  the  son  of  the  Achaemenidae. 
Rut  I  scorn  his  promises  and  swear  by  Mithras  and  the  feruers 
of  the  kings,  the  most  solemn  oaths  I  am  acquainted  with,  that 
the  man  who  is  now  ruling  you  is  none  other  than  the  Magian, 
Gaumata,  he  who  was  deprived  of  his  ears,  the  brother  of  the 
king's  vicegerent  and  high-priest,  Oropastes,  whom  ye  all 
know.  If  it  be  your  will  to  forget  all  the  glory  ye  owe  to  the 

*See  note  p.  271. 


506  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

Achaemenidae,  if  to  this  ingratitude  ye  choose  to  add  your  own 
degradation,  then  acknowledge  these  creatures  and  call  them 
your  kings;  but  if  ye  despise  a  lie  and  are  ashamed  to  obey 
worthless  impostors,  drive  the  Magi  from  the  throne  before 
Mithras  has  left  the  heavens,  and  proclaim  the  noblest  of  the 
Achaemenidae,  Darius,  the  exalted  son  of  Hystaspes,  who 
promises  to  become  a  second  Cyrus,  as  your  king.  And  now, 
in  order  that  ye  may  believe  my  words  and  not  suspect  that 
Darius  sent  me  hither  to  win  you  over  to  his  side,  I  will  commit 
a  deed  which  must  destroy  every  doubt  and  prove  that  the 
truth  and  glory  of  the  Achaemenidae  are  dearer  to  me  than 
life  itself.  Blessed  be  ye  if  ye  follow  my  counsels,  but  'curses 
rest  upon  ye  if  ye  neglect  to  reconquer  the  throne  from  the  Magi 
and  revenge  yourselves  upon  them.  Behold,  I  die  a  true  and 
honorable  man!" 

With  these  words  he  ascended  the  highest  pinnacle  of  the 
tower  and  cast  himself  down  head  foremost,  thus  expiating  the 
one  crime  of  his  life  by  an  honorable  death.* 

The  dead  silence  with  which  the  people  in  the  court  below 
had  listened  to  him. was  now  broken  by  shrieks  of  rage  and 
cries  for  vengeance.  They  burst  open  the  gates  of  the  palace, 
and  were  pressing  in  with  cries  of  "Death  to  the  Magi,"  when 
the  seven  princes  of  the  Persians  appeared  in  front  of  the  raging 
crowd  to  resist  their  entrance. 

At  the  sight  of  the  Achaemenidae  the  citizens  broke  out  with 
shouts  of  joy,  and  cried  more  impetuously  than  ever:  "Down 
with  the  Magi!  Victory  to  King  Darius!" 

The  son  of  Hystaspes  was  then  carried  by  the  crowd  to  a 
rising  ground,  from  which  he  told  the  people  that  the  Magi 
had  been  slain  by  the  Achaemenidae  as  liars  and  usurpers. 
Fresh  cries  of  joy  arose  in  answer  to  these  words,  and,  when  at 
last  the  bleeding  heads  of  Oropastes  and  Gaumata  were  shown 
to  the  crowd,  they  rushed  with  horrid  yells  through  the  streets 
of  the  city,  murdering  every  Magian  they  could  lay  hold  of. 
The  darkness  of  night  alone  was  able  to  stop  this  horrid 
massacre. f 

*"Herod.,"  iii,  75. 

f'Herod.,"  iii,  79.  In  this  place  Herodotus  also  says  that  the  Per- 
sians kept  this  day  as  a  great  festival  and  called  it  "the  murder  of 
the  Magi."  Wlastoff,  in  his  "Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voyages,"  p.  177, 
gives  us  some  new  thoughts  on  this  period  of  Persian  history,  with 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  507 

Four  days  later,  Darius,  the  son  of  Hystaspes,  was  chosen 
as  king  by  the  heads  of  the  Achaemenidae,  in  consideration  of 
his  high  birth  and  noble  character,  and  received  by  the  Persian 
nation  with  enthusiasm.  Darius  had  killed  Gaumata  with  his 
own  hand,  and  the  high-priest  had  received  his  death-thrust 
from  the  hand  of  Megabyzus,  the  father  of  Zopyrus.  While 
Prexaspes  was  haranguing  the  people  the  seven  conspiring 
Persian  princes,  Otanes,  Intaphernes,  Gobryas,  Megabyzus, 
Aspatines,  Hydarnes  and  Darius  (as  representative  of  his  aged 
father,  Hystaspes),  had  entered  the  palace  by  a  carelessly 
guarded  gate,  sought  out  the  part  of  the  building  occupied  by 
the  Magi,  and  then,  assisted  by  their  own  knowledge  of  the 
palace  and  the  fact  that  most  of  the  guards  had  been  sent  to 
keep  watch  over  the  crowd  assembled  to  hear  Prexaspes,  easily 
penetrated  to  the  apartments  in  which  at  that  moment  they  were 
to  be  found.  Here  they  were  resisted  by  a  few  eunuchs, 
headed  by  Boges,  but  these  were  overpowered  and  killed  to  a 
man.  Darius  became  furious  at  seeing  Boges  and  killed  him 
at  once.  Hearing  the  dying  cries  of  these  eunuchs  the  Magi 
rushed  to  the  spot  and  prepared  to  defend  themselves.  Oro- 
pastes  snatched  a  lance  from  the  fallen  Boges,  thrust  out  one  of 
Intaphernes'  eyes  and  wounded  Aspatines  in  the  thigh,  but 
was  stabbed  by  Megabyzus.  Gaumata  fled  into  another  apart- 
ment and  tried  to  bar  the  door,  but  was  followed  too  soon  by 
Darius  and  Gobryas;  the  latter  seized,  threw  him,  and  kept 
him  down  by  the  weight  of  his  own  body,  crying  to  Darius, 
who  was  afraid  of  making  a  false  stroke  in  the  half-light,  and 
so  wounding  his  companion  instead  of  Gaumata:  "Strike 
boldly,  even  if  you  should  stab  us  both."  Darius  obeyed,  and 
fortunately  only  hit  the  Magian.* 

Thus  died  Oropastes,  the  high-priest,  and  his  brother  Gau- 
mata, better  known  under  the  name  of  the  "pseudo,"  or  "pre- 
tended Smerdis." 

A  few  weeks  after  Darius'  election  to  the  throne,  which  the 
people  said  had  been  marvelously  influenced  by  divine  miracles 

which,  however,  we  are  as  little  inclined  to  agree  as  with  Malcolm, 
Anquetil,  and  others  in  their  conjecture  that  the  Darius  of  the  in- 
scriptions is  the  Gustasps  of  Firdusi.  It  is  unquestionably  far  more 
probable  that  the  inscription  of  Behistan  was  intended  to  hand  down 
the  deeds  of  Darius  to  posterity  than  to  commemorate  religious 
occurrences. 

*"Herad.,"  iii,  78. 


508  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

and  the  clever  cunning  of  a  groom,*  he  celebrated  his  corona 
tion  brilliantly  at  Pasargadae,  and  with  still  more  splendor,  his 
marriage  with  his  beloved  Atossa,f  The  trials  of  her  life  had 
ripened  her  character  and  she  proved  a  faithful,  beloved  and 
respected  companion  to  her  husband  through  the  whole  of 
that  active  and  glorious  life  which,  as  Prexaspes  had  foretold, 
made  him  worthy  of  the  names  by  which  he  was  afterward 
known — Darius  the  Great  and  a  second  Cyrus.J 

As  a  general  he  was  circumspect  and  brave,  and  at  the  same 
time  understood  so  thoroughly  how  to  divide  his  enormous 
realm  and  to  administer  its  affairs  that  he  must  be  classed  with 
the  greatest  organizers  of  all  times  and  countries.  That  his 
feeble  successors  were  able  to  keep  this  Asiatic  Colossus  of 
different  countries  together  for  two  hundred  years  after  his 
death  was  entirely  owing  to  Darius.  He  was  liberal  of  his  own, 
but  sparing  of  his  subjects'  treasures,  and  made  truly  royal  gifts 
without  demanding  more  than  was  his  due.  He  introduced  a 
regular  system  of  taxation  in  place  of  the  arbitrary  exactions 
practiced  under  Cyrus  and  Cambyses,  and  never  allowed  him- 
self to  be  led  astray  in  the  carrying  out  of  what  seemed  to  him 
right  either  by  difficulties  or  by  the  ridicule  of  the  Achae- 
menidae,  who  nick-named  him  the  "shop-keeper,"  on  account 
of  what  seemed,  to  their  exclusively  military  tastes,  his  petty 
financial  measures.  It  is  by  no  means  one  of  his  smallest 
merits  that  he  introduced  one  system  of  coinage  through  his 

*"Herod."  (iii,  85)  relates  that  the  seven  conspirators  agreed  to  take 
a  ride  out  of  the  city,  and  that  he  whose  horse  was  the  first  to  neigh 
at  the  rising  sun  should  be  king.  He  then  tells  the  well-known  tale 
of  the  trick  said  to  have  been  played  by  Darius'  groom,  and  adds  that 
at  the  same  time,  though  the  sky  was  clear,  it  had  thundered  and 
lightened.  The  former  part  of  the  history  is  probable,  as  horses  were 
sacred  to  the  sun,  and  the  neighing  of  Darius'  horse  as  Mithras  rose 
would,  therefore,  be  regarded  as  a  sign  from  heaven.  But  the  claims 
of  Darius  to  the  throne  were  too-well  founded  to  need  the  support  of 
a  groom's  cunning. 

tAtossa  is  constantly  mentioned  as  the  favorite  wife  of  Darius,  and 
he  appointed  her  son  Xerxes  to  be  his  successor,  though  he  had  three 
elder  sons  by  the  daughter  of  Gobryas.  "Herodotus"  (vii,  3)  speaks 
with  emphasis  of  the  respect  and  consideration  in  which  Atossa  was 
held,  and  Aeschylus,  in  his  "Persians,"  mentions  her  in  her  old  age 
as  the  much-revered  and  noble  matron. 

tFor  instance,  in  the  "Frogs  of  Aristophanes"  (v,  1035),  Darius  is 
called  "the  great." 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  509 

entire  empire  and  consequently  through  half  the  then  known 
world.* 

Darius  respected  the  religions  and  customs  of  other  nations. 
When  the  writing  of  Cyrus,  of  the  existence  of  which  Cambyses 
had  known  nothing,  was  found  in  the  archives  of  Ecbatana,  he 
allowed  the  Jews  to  carry  on  the  building  of  their  temple  to 
Jehovah  ;f  he  also  left  the  Ionian  cities  free  to  govern  their  own 
communities  independently.  Indeed,  he  would  hardly  have 
sent  his  army  against  Greece  if  the  Athenians  had  not  insulted 
him. 

In  Egypt  he  had  learned  much;  among  other  things,  the  art 
of  managing  the  exchequer  of  his  kingdom  wisely;  for  this 
reason  he  held  the  Egyptians  in  high  esteem,  and  granted  them 
many  privileges,  among  others  a  canal  to  connect  the  Nile  with 
the  Red  Sea,  which  was  greatly  to  the  advantage  of-  their 
commerce. :£ 

During  the  whole  of  his  reign  Darius  endeavored  to  make 
amends  for  the  severity  with  which  Cambyses  had  treated  the 
Egyptians;  even  in  the  latter  years  of  his  life  he  delighted  to 
study  the  treasures  of  their  wisdom,  and  no  one  was  allowed 
either  to  attack  their  religion  or  customs  so  long  as  he  lived. 
The  old  high-priest  Neithotep  enjoyed  the  king's  favor  to  the 
last,  and  Darius  often  made  use  of  his  wise  old  master's  astro- 
logical knowledge. 

The  goodness  and  clemency  of  their  new  ruler  was  fully 
acknowledged  by  the  Egyptians;  they  called  him  a  deity,§  as 

*"Herod.,"  iii,  89.  Bockh,  "Metrologie,"  pp.  45  and  129.  In  Raw- 
linson's  "Herodotus,"  vol.  ii,  p.  460,  essay  iii. 

f"Ezra,"  vi,  2-12.  "Zachariah,"  1-8.  On  the  various  stages  of  the 
work,  see  Bunsen,  "Bibelwerk,  Biblische  Jahrbiicher,"  323-325. 

JTraces  of  this  canal  can  be  found  as  early  as  the  days  of  Setos  I; 
his  son,  Rameses  II,  caused  the  works  to  be  continued.  Under  Necho 
they  were  recommenced,  and  possibly  finished  by  Darius.  In  the 
time  of  the  Ptolemies,  at  all  events,  the  canal  was  already  completed. 
"Herod.,"  ii,  158.  "Diod.,"  i,  33.  The  French,  in  undertaking  to 
reconstruct  the  Suez  canal,  have  had  much  to  encounter  from  the 
unfriendly  commercial  policy  of  the  English,  and  their  influence  over 
the  internal  affairs  of  Egypt,  but  the  unwearied  energy  and  great 
talent  of  M.  de  Lesseps  and  the  patriotism  of  the  French  nation  have 
at  last  succeeded  in  bringing  their  great  work  to  a  successful  close. 
Whether  it  will  pay  is  another  question.  See  G.  Ebers,  "Der  Kanal 
von  Suez."  Nordische  Revue,  Oct.,  1864. 

§The  name  of  Darius  occurs  very  often  on  the  monuments  as  r> 
ritisch.     The  Egypto-Persian  memorial  fragments  bearing  Inscrip- 


510  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

they  had  called  their  own  kings,  and  yet,  in  the  last  years  of  his 
reign  their  desire  for  independence  led  them  to  forget  grati- 
tude and  to  try  to  shake  off  his  gentle  yoke,  which  was  only 
oppressive  because  it  had  originally  "been  forced  on  them. 

Their  generous  ruler  and  protector  did  not  live  to  see  the 
end  of  this  struggle.* 

It  was  reserved  for  Xerxes,  the  successor  and  son  of  Darius 
and  Atossa,f  to  bring  back  the  inhabitants  of  the  Nile  Valley  to 
a  forced  and  therefore  insecure  obedience. 

Darius  left  the  worthy  monument  of  his  greatness  in  the 
glorious  palace  which  he  built  on  Mount  Rachmed,  the  ruins 
of  which  are  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  travelers  to  this 
day.  Six  thousand  Egyptian  workmen,  who  had  been  sent  to 
Asia  by  Cambyses,  took  part  in  the  work  and  also  assisted  .in 
building  a  tomb  for  Darius  and  his  successors,  the  rocky  and 
almost  inaccessible  chambers  of  which  have  defied  the  ravages 
of  time,  and  are  now  the  resort  of  innumerable  wild  pigeons. 

He  caused  the  history  of  his  deeds  to  be  cut  (in  the  cuneiform 
character  and  in  the  Persian,  Median  and  Assyrian  languages) 
on  the  polished  side  of  the  rock  of  Bisitun  or  Behistan,  not  far 
from  the  spot  where  he  saved  Atossa?s  life.  The  Persian  part 
of  this  inscription^  can  still  be  deciphered  with  certainty,  and 
contains  an  account  of  the  events  related  in  the  last  few  chap- 
ters very  nearly  agreeing  with  our  own  and  that  of  Herodotus. 
The  following  sentences  occur  among  others:  "Thus  saith 
Darius  the  king;  that  which  I  have  done,  was  done  by  the 

tions  in  the  hieroglyphic  and  cuneiform  characters  are  very  interest- 
ing. "Description  de  1'Eg.  ant.,"  v,  pi.  29.  Lepsius,  "Monatsbericht 
der  Berliner  Akademie  der  Wissenschaft,"  May  17,  1866,  p.  285,  etc. 
Darius'  name  in  Egyptian  was  generally  "Ra,  the  beloved  of  Ammon." 
On  a  porcelain  vessel  in  Florence  and  in  some  papyri  in  Paris  and 
Florence  he  is  called  by  the  divine  titles  of  honor  given  to  the 
Pharaohs. 

*The  first  rebellion  in  Egypt,  which  broke  out  under  Aryandes,  the 
satrap  appointed  by  Cambyses,  was  put  down  by  Darius  in  person. " 
He  visited  Egypt  and  promised  one  hundred  talents  (twenty-two 
thousand  five  hundred  pounds  sterling)  to  anyone  who  would  find  a 
new  Apis.  "Polyaen.,"  vii,  11,  7.  No  second  outbreak  took  place 
until  486  B.  C.,  about  four  years  before  the  death  of  Darius.  "Herod.," 
vii,  1.  Xerxes  conquered  the  rebels  two  years  after  his  accession  and 
appointed  his  brother,  Achaemenes,  satrap  of  Egypt. 

tSee  note  p.  209. 

{The  cuneiform  character  called  Persian-Achaemenidae. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  511 

grace  of  Auramazda  in  every  way.  I  fought  nineteen  battles 
after  the  rebellion  of  the  kings.  By  the  mercy  of  Auramazda 
I  conquered  them.  I  took  nine  kings  captive.  One  was  a 
Median,  Gaumata  by  name.  He  lied  and  said:  'I  am  Bardiya 
(Bartja),  the  son  of  Cyrus.'  He  caused  Persia  to  rebel." 

Some  distance  lower  down  he  names  the  chiefs  who  helped 
him  to  dethrone  the  Magi,  and  in  another  place  the  inscription 
has  these  words:  "Thus  saith  the  king,  Darius;  that  which  1 
have  done  was  done  in  every  way  by  the  grace  of  Auramazda. 
Auramazda  helped  me,  and  such  other  gods  as  there  be.  Aura- 
mazda and  the  other  gods  gave  me  help  because  I  was  not 
swift  to  anger,  nor  a  liar,  nor  a  violent  ruler,  neither  I  nor  my 
kinsmen.  I  have  shown  favor  unto  him  who  helped  my  breth- 
ren, and  I  have  punished  severely  him  who  was  my  enemy. 
Thou  who  shalt  be  king  after  me,  be  not  merciful  unto  him  who 
is  a  liar  or  a  rebel,  but  punish  him  with  severe  punishment. 
Thus  saith  Darius  the  king:  Thou  who  shalt  hereafter  behold 
this  tablet  which  I  have  written,  or  these  pictures,  destroy  them 
not,  but  so  long  as  thou  shalt  live  preserve  them,"  etc. 

It  now  only  remains  to  be  told  that  Zopyrus,  the  son  of 
Megabyzus,  continued  to  the  last  the  king's  most  faithful 
friend. 

A  courtier  once  showed  the  king  a  pomegranate  and  asked 
him  of  what  one  gift  of  fortune  he  would  like  so  many 
repetitions  as  there  were  seeds  in  that  fruit.  Without  a  mo- 
ment's hesitation  Darius' answered,  ''Of  my  Zopyrus."* 

The  following  story  will  prove  that  Zopyrus,  on  his  part, 
well  understood  how  to  return  his  royal  friend's  kindness. 
After  the  death  of  Cambyses  Babylon  revolted  from  the  Per- 
sian empire.  Darius  besieged  the  city  nine  months  in  vain,  and 
was  about  to  raise  the  siege,  when  one  day  Zopyrus  appeared 
before  him  bleeding,  and  deprived  of  his  ear  and  nose,  and 
explained  that  he  had  mutilated  himself  thus  in  order  to  cheat 
the  Babylonians,  who  knew  him  welX  as  he  had  formerly  been 
on  intimate  terms  with  their  daughters.  He  said  he  wished  to 
tell  the  haughty  citizens  that  Darius  had  thus  disfigured  him, 
and  that  he  had  come  to  them  for  help  in  revenging  himself. 

*Plutarch  tells  this  story  (in  his  "Apophthegmata,"  p.  173)  of 
Zopyrus,  and  Herodotus  of  Megabyzus,  the  conquerer  of  Trace. 
<:Herod.,"  iv,  193, 


512  AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS. 

He  thought  they  would  then  place  troops  at  his  disposal,  wiui 
which  he  intended  to  impose  upon  them  by  making  a  few  suc- 
cessful sallies  at  first.  His  ultimate  intention  was  to  get  posses- 
sion of  the  keys  and.  open  the  Semiramis  gate  to  his  friends. 

These  words,  which  were  spoken  in  a  joking  tone,  contrasted 
so  sadly  with  the  mutilated  features  of  his  once  so  handsome 
friend  that  Darius  wept,  and  when,  at  last,  the  almost  impreg- 
nable fortress  was  really  won  by  Zopyrus'  stratagem,  he  ex- 
claimed: "I  would  give  a  hundred  Babylons  if  my  Zopyrus 
had  not  thus  mutilated  himself." 

He  then  appointed  his  friend  lord  of  the  giant  city,  gave  him 
its  entire  revenues,  and  honored  him  every  year  with  the  rarest 
presents.  In  later  days  he  used  to  say  that,  with  the  exception 
of  Cyrus,  who. had  no  equal,  no  man  had  ever  performed  so 
generous  a  deed  as  Zopyrus.* 

Few  rulers  possessed  so  many  self-sacrificing  friends  as 
Darius,  because  few  understood  so  well  how  to  be  grateful. 

When  Syloson,  the  brother  of  the  murdered  Polykrates,  came 
to  Susa  and  reminded  the  king  of  his  former  services,  Darius 
received  him  as  a  friend,  placed  ships  and  troops  at  his  service 
and  helped  him  to  recover  Samos. 

The  Samians  made  a  desperate  resistance  and  said,  when, 
at  last,  they  were  obliged  to  yield:  "Through  Syloson  we  have 
much  room  in  our  land." 

Rhodopis  lived  to  hear  of  the  murder  of  Hipparchus, 'the 
tyrant  of  Athens,  by  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton,  and  died,  at 
last,  in  the  arms  of  her  best  friends,  Theopompus,  the  Milesian, 
and  Kallias,  the  Athenian,  firm  in  her  belief  of  the  high  calling 
of  her  countrymen. 

All  Naukratis  mourned  for  her,  and  Kallias  sent  a  messenger 
to  Susa  to  inform  the  king  and  Sappho  of  her  death. 

A  few  months  later  the  satrap  of  Egypt  received  the  follow- 
ing letter  from  the  hand  of  the  king: 

"Inasmuch  as  we  ourselves  knew  and  honored  Rhodopis, 
the  Greek,  who  has  lately  died  in  Naukratis — inasmuch  as  her 
granddaughter,  as  widow  of  the  lawful  heir  to  the  Persian 
throne,  enjoys  to  this  day  the  rank  and  honors  of  a  queen — 

*"Herod.,"  iii,  160.  According  to  Ktesias,  "Pers.,"  22.  Zopyrus 
received  a  golden  handmill  weighing  six  talents,  the  most  honorable 
and  distinguished  gift  that  a  Persian  monarch  could  bestow  upon  a 
subject. 


AN  EGYPTIAN  PRINCESS.  &L3 

and,  lastly,  inasmuch  as  I  have  lately  taken  the  great  grand- 
child of  the  same  Rhodopis,  Parmys,  the  daughter  of  Bartja 
and  Sappho,  to  be  my  third  and  lawful  wife,  it  seems  to  me  just 
to  grant  royal  honors  to  the  ancestress  of  two  queens.  I,  there- 
fore, command  thee  to  cause  the  ashes  of  Rhodopis,  whom  we 
have  always  esteemed  as  the  greatest  and  rarest  among  women, 
to  be  buried  in  the  greatest  and  rarest  of  all  monuments, 
namely,  in  one  of  the  pyramids.  The  costly  urn  which  them 
wilt  receive  herewith,  is  sent  by  Sappho  to  preserve  the  ashes 
of  the  deceased. 

"Given  in  the  new  imperial  palace  at  Persepolis. 

"Darius,  son  of  Hystaspes,  King." 


THE  END. 


